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While fans are locking in their bold predictions for Notre Dame football's opener against Texas A&M, there is no doubt that the team has big aspirations for the upcoming season. With people making their last minute predictions on the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman has gold on the mind with his own expectations.
There is no doubt that every single season, the Fighting Irish face a ton of pressure for being an annual contender in the College Football Playoff and now with the bracket opened up to 12 teams, that will be heightened for the program. As for Freeman's take, his thoughts are simple on his own expectations which are to “win a championship” according to NBC Sports.
“I’m at a place with high expectations, and any competitor wants that,” Freeman said. “I don’t want to be at a place where their expectations aren’t to make the playoffs. And that’s our expectation here — to make them, to win them and to win a championship.”
“You dream about your season, that it’s going to be perfect, you’re going to win every game by a big margin, and it’s just going to be smooth sailing,” Freeman continued. “But there are going to be challenges. How do you prepare your group for those times that are going to be difficult? That’s my ultimate goal. … My job is keep us all together and give this team a chance.”
Marcus Freeman discusses Notre Dame football's offensive line
One of the key aspects of the upcoming season for the Notre Dame football team is their offensive line as per Freeman, the team is going with players that give them “the best chance to win” rather than ones with more “in-game experience.”
“We have guys that have (more) in-game experience, but we’ve decided we’re going to play some other guys,” Freeman said. “The point of that is because we believe the guys we’re going to play give us the best chance to win, and that makes me feel good. We’re not settling for, hey, this guy has more experience. We’re choosing who we believe is going to give us the best chance to have success…Everybody, at one point, is inexperienced, but we have a lot of confidence in what they’re going to be able to do.”
Notre Dame football quarterback wants team to reach full potential
Still, the team will also be led by quarterback Riley Leonard which people have their own expectations for in excelling with the Fighting Irish. He will be with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock who Leonard describes his system as giving “the quarterback the keys to the car” as he wants to see the Notre Dame football team “reach our full potential.”
“A lot of the times he’ll call a play, but that’s just the base play,” Leonard said. “That’s not really what we’re running. He gives the quarterback the keys to the car to be able to do whatever.”
“I just want us to reach our full potential,” Leonard continued. “Everybody wants to take it game-by-game, week-by-week. But with a 12-(team CFP), it kind of leaves the door open. You obviously think about that.”
The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 7 as their opener is against Texas A&M which happens Saturday night.
