Marcus Freeman left Week 1 with plenty to like, and now Notre Dame has to turn that momentum into a sharp showing at home.
The Irish opened the year 1-0 for the third time in Freeman’s tenure after rolling past Wisconsin 41-13 on Sunday in the Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field. Notre Dame entered as the heavy favorite and backed that up with a second-half surge, outscoring the Badgers 28-3 after halftime to finish with a 28-point win.
Next up is a quick turnaround and a home opener against Rice, which comes in unranked and also 1-0. Freeman said the focus this week has to stay on the details, especially with Notre Dame Stadium waiting for its first game of the season.
"We've got to be intentional about the work we put in this week and the mental and physical prep for our first game in Notre Dame stadium, which is something we're really looking forward to," Freeman shared. "As we move on to Rice, 1-0 obviously right now.
They won big last week, 31-3, and the one thing reading about their head coach, he's been successful everywhere he's been. It can be at DIII ball and it can be at Davidson where he did some amazing things.
And going into his second year, he's done a really good job with this Rice football program. We've got to be prepared."
Freeman also pointed to what the Wisconsin game revealed about his team, saying the offseason and fall camp were about building something that holds up once the lights come on.
"One of the messages I had for the guys in the summer and as we went to fall camp was we've got to work in the dark," Freeman explained. "When there's an absence of a game, there's absence of cameras, there's absence of a lot of different things.
I told him why I themed it that because in the dark it isn't about eyesight, it's about what you gain on the inside. That's what I learned during fall camp.
This is a resilient group, it's tough and it comes to work every day. But it was confirmed when you're in the midst of a three-point game at halftime."
He also singled out sophomore running back Nolan and the role the entire running backs room played in the passing game.
"The entire running backs room had a big role in the pass game, and Nolan included," Freeman stated about the sophomore running back. "It was good to see him out in space, making some guys miss and running hard.
He is a talented football player. He just embraced his role and given the opportunity, he made the most of it and had some explosive plays.
He's doing a phenomenal job, and it was good to see him out there and get rewarded with that long touchdown."
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There is also the unusual backdrop of a family split across one of college footballs oldest rivalries, with younger brother Tommy Carr now a true freshman quarterback at Michigan. But the story that lingers most is the loss of the Carr familys youngest son, Chad, who died in 2015 from a pediatric brain tumor, a reminder that for CJ, the meaning attached to his name has never been only about what happens on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]