Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman saw his team win their fifth consecutive game on Saturday. Notre Dame knocked off rival USC, in a thrilling 34-24 contest. Freeman said after the game he had a conversation with God following the win.
“I am sitting there like, ‘God, I get you, man.’ You know?” Freeman said, per The Athletic. “Notre Dame, there is something … that moment I’m like, ‘What is going on?’”
Notre Dame defeated USC in bad weather, with the Fighting Irish needing a win desperately to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. After Saturday, that is exactly what they got.
Notre Dame is 5-2 on the campaign following the win. USC holds that same record. It could be the last time USC and Notre Dame play for awhile, although the schools are working on extending their football series.
Notre Dame still has an outside shot at the College Football Playoff
Notre Dame started the season with a disappointing 0-2 record. The Fighting Irish lost to Miami (FL) and then Texas A&M. It was a devastating start to the year, especially for the squad's defense.
Since then, Notre Dame has figured some things out. Freeman is more involved with the defense, and the product on the field is reflecting that. Notre Dame's defense is playing with more physicality and toughness.
“That’s what we want. That’s our edge,” Freeman said. “We got to play the game in a physical manner that maybe not every team wants to play. Not saying they didn’t. Not every team wants to play that way.”
Against USC, Notre Dame held the Trojans scoreless in the fourth quarter. It was the difference in the game, as Notre Dame was able to make the plays needed down the stretch to come out on top.
“You know, you got to be grateful for these things because if you’re not, man — this is the reward of a lot of the hard work,” Freeman said. “Tomorrow, this reward goes away. It’s now 11:32 p.m. The minute we wake up in the morning, our mind starts going to the next thing.
“And so if you don’t enjoy this team glory, then it’s a miserable existence being a football player or a coach. We have to make sure we enjoy it. And, yes, because it’s a huge game, great opponent, rivalry, also because we put a lot of work into achieving this result.”
Notre Dame next plays Boston College on November 1.
