Fans went off on Marcus Freeman for his brutal decision to kick a field goal against Ohio State in the National Championship game. On Monday, the Fighting Irish had to play catch-up for most of the game against the Buckeyes. Notre Dame football's elite defense struggled all night against an Ohio State offense that has found its groove in the College Football Playoff.

The Fighting Irish launched a furious comeback in the second half after being down by as much as 24 points. At 31-15, Marcus Freeman's team faced a fourth down at the Buckeyes' nine-yard line with 9:34 left in the game. Notre Dame's head coach opted to kick a 27-yard field goal, which unfortunately led to a miss by placekicker Mitch Jeter.

The public did not hold back on Freeman opting for the more conservative route.

 

Marcus Freeman's decision was not as obvious as it seemed

Notre Dame Fighting Irish place kicker Mitch Jeter (98) attempts a field goal that hit the goal post against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Brett Davis-Imagn Images

As brutal as Marcus Freeman's call seemed at the moment, it was not necessarily an obvious blunder. Asking your team to score 24 points on three scores is a big ask, and there was a chance that the Buckeyes would play it safer on offense to run down the clock. This gives the Fighting Irish the opportunity to get stops against an offense that has been marching down the field against them all night.

Ohio State has a tendency to overthink on offense, as shown in its loss to Michigan. In addition, Mitch Jeter was riding high on confidence. The senior was coming off a game in which he had the game-winning kick against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Unfortunately, Jeter missed the field goal, and the Notre Dame defense couldn't get enough stops to pull the upset on the Buckeyes.

Ohio State ultimately only punted one time Monday night. Ryan Day's team had 445 yards of offense, including a game-changing 214 yards on the ground. The dynamic duo of quarterback Will Howard and wideout Jeremiah Smith linked up multiple times in New Orleans, including on a 56-yard pass play to get a first down that virtually sealed the game.

Perhaps things would've been different if Marcus Freeman had decided to go for two there. It was the first time this year that Notre Dame football's head coach couldn't rely on his defense to get a stop. However, this was a difficult decision that, in this case, did not go well for the Fighting Irish.