Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman gets Kirby Smart appreciation ahead of Sugar Bowl clash
12/23/2024 02:20 PM
The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff kicked off this past Friday night in South Bend, with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gearing up to face an in-state foe in the Indiana Hoosiers. Though it certainly wasn’t the biggest game in the storied history of the Notre Dame football program, it was the biggest game in the young coaching career of 38-year-old Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. To the delight of the 77,622 fans in attendance, Freeman and the Irish aced this first test of the postseason.
Now awaiting Notre Dame on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl is the Georgia Bulldogs, and standing across the sideline from Freeman will be Kirby Smart, who like ND’s head coach got into the coaching game early. Smart took over at Georgia as a 40-year-old and like Freeman, faced immediate pressure to succeed. And succeed he did. By year two, Smart had the Bulldogs in the National Championship Game.
Marcus Freeman is hoping to replicate that level of success now in his third full season at Notre Dame.
During a Monday morning press conference, Kirby Smart talked about the Sugar Bowl matchup, and made sure to take the time to shout out Marcus Freeman, who he said has been “incredible” since taking over at a national brand like Notre Dame.
“Yeah, I can definitely appreciate the job he’s done,” Smart said, per Jordan D. Hill of 247Sports. “For him to take that over at that age, manage that, and have success, and really go through some tough times, I mean, it doesn’t come without criticism to be a head coach. But to do it at that age at Notre Dame is pretty special, and he’s obviously done a great job. He’s got great presence and command about him, and I think that’s what makes him a great head coach.”
Marcus Freeman took over for Brian Kelly, who led the Irish to their first National Championship Game appearance since they won the title in 1988, so needless to say, expectations were sky high right out of the gate. And while Freeman had the Irish playing competitive football, a 19-7 record in his first two full seasons left something to be desired.
Notre Dame’s loss versus Northern Illinois back in early September momentarily landed Freeman in some hot water among many Fighting Irish supporters. At the time of the loss, Freeman’s career record was just 20-9, but since then, the Irish have won 11 straight (10 of them by double-digits) and look like a legitimate threat to upend the SEC Champions.
With a win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, Freeman would be up to 32 wins, which was the same total that Smart had in his first three seasons in Athens.
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