Notre Dame walked into Saturday night needing a win, and it got one in the biggest possible spot.
The No. 11 Irish knocked off No.
1 Miami, 31-24, inside Notre Dame Stadium, keeping their playoff hopes alive with a performance built on a strong first half and just enough resistance when the Hurricanes pushed back after halftime. For Marcus Freeman, it was the biggest regular-season victory of his tenure, and he made it clear afterward that the moment mattered.
“I mean, it’s a special moment,” Freeman shared. “Enjoy the moment because tomorrow when you wake up, it’s time to get ready for the next one.
I know it’s a big one. This is big.
This is special. I’m not going to sit here and say this is like the other ones.
No, this is different. There was a lot of emotion, a lot of physical preparation, but mental preparation we put into this.
I want them to enjoy it, but tomorrow it doesn’t do anything for the future. We’ve got to go and work starting tomorrow for the opportunity we have next Saturday.
That’s what’s important. No matter what you did today has nothing to do with what you’re going to do next Saturday.
The work you put in Monday through Friday will dictate how you play on Saturday.”
Freeman also pointed to the battle up front as a major reason Notre Dame came out on top.
“They played relentless, man,” Freeman explained. “They did.
It was going to be a challenge because that program we just faced, they pride themselves on the same thing and it was a challenge. It was a challenge to block them, especially their inside guys, and it was a challenge to get to that quarterback.
I thought we got really good pressure, but to actually get him down was a challenge. I’m extremely proud of them guys, and we wouldn’t be in this position without our O-line and D-line.”
The Irish defense and offensive line held up in a game that lived in the trenches, but Freeman also singled out quarterback CJ Carr for the way he handled the week leading into the matchup.
“It wasn’t anything different than the previous weeks in the way he’s prepared,” Freeman stated. “We always challenge each other, how do we continue to elevate the way we prepare?
But our process is our process, right? How do we do it better?
That’s who CJ Carr is, man. He prepares -- I said this three years ago, the dude prepared like he was a starter.
So he’s not going to do anything different this week because we’re playing Miami.
“We’ve just got to continue to do what we do and do it better,” Freeman continued. “Because it doesn’t -- you lose hope and you lose faith in what you’ve done previously if you do something better and different this week because it’s a different opponent. No, you’ve got to trust that your process produces the results you want, and if it doesn’t, we’ve got to look how to make it better.”
In Other News...
Colin Cowherd Just Gave Notre Dame Fans New CFP Ammo
Colin Cowherds latest take on the College Football Playoff rankings gave Notre Dame fans fresh talking points, and not just because he pushed back on the Irish sitting at No. 11. He took aim at the committees decision to place Indiana at No. 4, while Notre Dame remains on the outside looking in, and argued that the gap between the two teams is not as straightforward as the rankings suggest.
Cowherd also revisited Notre Dames loss to BYU, saying the ending should be viewed through the lens of controversial officiating and the Big 12s admitted errors. He pointed to Notre Dames statistical edge over Indiana and questioned how the committee is weighing signature wins, which leaves the Irish with another public argument for why their rsum deserves a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames 2028 Class Just Added Another Intriguing Defender
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Bruno brings the kind of profile Notre Dame tends to value on and off the field, with a reputation as a strong high school defender and a high academic prospect. For a program that has long sold both development and fit, landing a player with that combination only adds to the intrigue around what the 2028 class could become as more decisions start to stack up. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDays Notre Dame Split Will Fuel Miami Debate
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Four of the five panelists backed Notre Dame to handle Miami, but Howard went the other way and sided with the Hurricanes. It is the kind of split that gives a prime-time matchup a little extra edge, especially with GameDay on site and the Irish getting the kind of national attention that comes with being the featured game of the day. [Read more 🡒]