As the focus for the Notre Dame football team is clear after starting slow with a 0-2 start, the program has picked up the pace with two straight wins, capped off by the 56-13 romp over Arkansas. Highlighted by Notre Dame football running back Jeremiyah Love scoring four touchdowns in the first half, head coach Marcus Freeman would speak after the win about the recent success.
While examining the stride that the Fighting Irish are currently on, it is important to look at the woes experienced early into the season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. When asked about the defense buying into Freeman's approach, he would speak on the team effort to fix instead of wanting to “pass blame,” according to On3 Sports.
“It’s a choice that everybody has to make, that this is us. It is not (defensive coordinator) Chris Ash,” Freeman said. “It’s not Marcus [Freeman]. It’s one — it’s all of us. We own this thing, and if you have that mentality, then you’re willing to fix it. If you want to pass blame, then you’re never going to do the things it takes to fix it.”
“I knew the leaders on the defense wouldn’t point the finger (at all),” Freeman continued. “They were pointing it at themselves, and I was very confident that they would stay together. It was a challenging week.”
In the opener against Miami, the Fighting Irish allowed 27 Hurricanes points and 324 total yards, while giving up 41 points to Texas A&M and 488 total yards.
Notre Dame football's Marcus Freeman on team rallying with each other
While the discussion now is on whether the Notre Dame football team is a College Football Playoff contender, despite the two early losses, the program has a chance to win out and prove that it belongs. They're led by Freeman's coaching, who emphasizes how it is “easy to pass the blame,” but the team had other plans.
“It’s easy to pass the blame,” Freeman said. “That’s the easy thing to do. That’s the default thing to do. But they stuck together. Leadership from Coach Ash on down to the position coaches, on down to the leaders on the defense, on down to everybody, really, was, to me, the thing that helped them get through a rough week and perform.”
The Fighting Irish look for three wins in a row as they face Boise State next Saturday.
