Notre Dame has spent November under Marcus Freeman looking like a team that expects to control the month, not merely survive it. That matters now more than ever, with the fifth-ranked Irish coming off a 31-24 win over then-No. 1 Miami and heading into the stretch run with three regular-season games left.
The next one comes against Boston College tomorrow afternoon, followed by SMU next weekend and Syracuse on the road the weekend after that. Freeman’s “Leave No Doubt” message is about to get a real workout, but November has been a friendly stage for Notre Dame during his tenure.
Since 2022, the Irish are 14-2 in November. The only losses came on the road at USC in 2022 and at Clemson in the first week of November in 2023.
Since that Clemson defeat, Notre Dame has gone unbeaten in the month, and the margins have usually been comfortable. Every November game since then has been won by double digits except for this season’s 31-24 victory over Miami.
The home numbers are even louder. In November games at Notre Dame Stadium under Freeman, the Irish have outscored opponents 361 to 79.
Before last weekend’s win over Miami, that total stood at 330 to 55. That kind of separation has become the norm in South Bend during the final month of the regular season.
The defense has been especially ruthless. Since November of 2022, only two teams have managed to reach both 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards at Notre Dame Stadium.
Virginia did it in 2024 with 128 rushing yards and 178 passing yards. Miami joined that short list this past weekend with 269 passing yards and 101 rushing yards.
Every other November home opponent in Freeman’s tenure has been held below 100 rushing yards or 100 passing yards.
There have also been two home November games in which Notre Dame scored in all three phases. Against Clemson in 2022, Benjamin Morrison had a pick six, Prince Kollie returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and the offense added its share. Last season against Syracuse, Leonard Moore and Jalen Stroman each returned interceptions for touchdowns, Luke Talich brought back a blocked punt for a score and the offense again did its part.
Across eight home November games since 2022, the Irish defense has forced 20 turnovers, not counting turnovers on downs. The average margin of victory in those games under Freeman is 35.2 points, with average final scores of 45.1 to 9.9.
That’s the backdrop as Notre Dame heads into the final three games. Boston College is next, SMU comes to town on Senior Day, and the regular season still has work left to do. If the recent November track record is any guide, the Irish are built to keep rolling.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Independence Suddenly Looks Smarter Than Ever
The College Football Playoffs move from 12 teams to 24 starting next year has already sent a ripple through the sport, and it has only sharpened the appeal of Notre Dames long-standing independence. As the Autonomy 4 conferences move to eliminate their championship games, the old arguments about needing a league title to secure a playoff spot suddenly look a lot different, especially for a program that has never depended on a conference structure to define its path.
Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz have both publicly raised questions about whether conferences still matter in the same way under the new format, and that kind of debate is exactly the sort of thing Notre Dame has been insulated from for years. With schools like Miami also weighing what these changes mean for conference affiliation and structure, the Irish find themselves in a familiar but newly relevant position: outside the system, yet perhaps better positioned than ever to benefit from it. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Gets Big Wins, A Fresh Freeman Hint And Heartbreak
A busy stretch around Notre Dame delivered plenty to talk about, starting with hockey, where Sammy Nelson scored twice and buried the overtime winner in a 3-2 upset of No. 4 Michigan State. The Irish have now won three straight, and freshman goalie Patrick Quinlan kept the surge going with 33 saves for his third consecutive victory, a strong sign that the team is finding real traction at both ends of the ice.
The momentum carried into mens basketball, where Ethan Roberts poured in a career-high 36 points and matched the program mark for made 3-pointers in a game during a 99-59 rout of South Carolina State. On the football side, Marcus Freeman offered an encouraging update on young cornerbacks Khary Adams and Ayden Pouncey while also leaving the door open on Brauntae Johnsons recovery, even as the program was also dealing with the sudden passing of broadcaster Dan Hicks. [Read more 🡒]
Former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman Is Headed For A Very Different Spotlight
Sam Hartmans football path has taken another unexpected turn, this time far from the practice field. The former Notre Dame quarterback, now on the Washington Commanders practice squad, has been announced as the new star of ABCs "The Bachelor" for its 30th season, adding a very different kind of attention to a player who was already familiar to Irish fans from his stops at Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
For Notre Dame followers, it is one more reminder that Hartmans post-college life is unfolding in unusual fashion. He is still attached to Washington as a practice squad quarterback, but his next major public role will come on television when the new season of "The Bachelor" premieres in March, putting him in a spotlight that has little to do with football and everything to do with prime-time exposure. [Read more 🡒]