If Marcus Freeman’s debut season as a head coach was defined by Notre Dame’s two upset losses at home to Marshall and Stanford, then his second year will be best remembered for how close he came to a top-10 upset of Ohio State before mistakes doomed otherwise effective performances at Louisville and at Clemson.
Measuring progress in losses is never the ideal in college football, not in any sport, but it is still progress. For that matter, 2023 featured one fewer loss than 2022 did, and therefore, by definition, more wins.
“A 10 looks better than nine,” Freeman said after No. 16 Notre Dame walloped No. 19 Oregon State, 40-8, in Friday’s Sun Bowl. “... To me, it’s a reflection of the direction of this program. Nine wins last year and 10 wins this year, we just want to continue to improve.”
Such a trend line would almost assuredly lead directly to the Irish hosting a College Football Playoff game in 2024, not quite the expectation for the program next season but very nearly so given how effective Notre Dame was in the transfer portal over the last month.
Keep in mind, there were more top-tier teams in college football than usual this season, and there were still only seven teams with one or zero losses, and if the Irish are a top-eight team after the regular season, they will host a Playoff game.
But in order to enjoy such a reality next December, Notre Dame needs to do what it could not in 2023, the actual definition for success in 2024.
“We’ve got to find a way, as you look back on this season, to win those close games that we didn’t end up winning,” Freeman said. “That’s the challenge of college football.
“How do you progress? How do you continue to take this group of football players and coaches and get us to a place where we can win those close ones and win the ones we’re supposed to?”
Notre Dame won the ones it was supposed to in 2023, unlike in 2022. It may have been favored at both Louisville (by six) and at Clemson (by three), but losing to a top-25 team or to one of the best programs in the country on the road are hardly black marks on a program.
Winning the close ones, however, alluded Freeman too much, going 1-2 in one-possession games, the one victory courtesy of a closing-minutes miracle drive from Sam Hartman at Duke at the expense of the next Irish quarterback, Riley Leonard.
The knee-jerk reaction to that thought will be to remember Notre Dame lining up only 10 defenders on the final two plays against the Buckeyes, and indeed, the Irish likely would have won if a fourth defensive lineman had been in the running lane Chip Trayanum used to barely reach the goal line. But Freeman’s point goes beyond that miscue.
Notre Dame needs to raise its Saturday effectiveness, execution and energy to the extent that a close game against Florida State (Nov. 9) does not come down to a goal-line stand. The Best Irish effort in 2024 should lead a contender to closing desperation, not closing heroics.
As impressive as the Sun Bowl victory was, everything else Notre Dame did in the last month did more to raise its ceiling in 2024.
The primary piece of play from El Paso that should carry over into 2024 was that of freshman left tackle and first-time starter Charles Jagusah. Losing three starting offensive linemen from the 2023 Irish roster will cause a bounty of offseason consternation, but the reality is, Notre Dame may be well-positioned along the offensive line thanks to Jagusah’s showing.
“Go show you can be the future left tackle of this program,” Freeman said before Jagusah took that chance by the collar.
Junior guard Pat Coogan got a full season’s worth of starts, junior Rocco Spindler started 10 games and, thanks to late-season injuries, sophomores Ashton Craig and Billy Schrauth each played more than three full games. Some combination of those four should man the three interior positions with Jagusah at left tackle. That will be enough known quantities to burgeon offensive line coach Joe Rudolph’s confidence this spring.
Rudolph will be working with new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, likely to turn loose a more high-octane Irish offense, one Freeman grew used to coaching against in Cincinnati practices from 2017 to 2020 as opposing Bearcats coordinators. Denbrock worked closely with Gino Guidugli in those days to develop Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder and create a Playoff-quality offense.
Guidugli, of course, directed Notre Dame’s offense in the Sun Bowl, the quarterbacks coach wearing two hats for a couple weeks and showing a knack for his personnel that should shorten Denbrock’s learning curve, not to mention Leonard’s.
”I’m really pleased with how quickly it worked out,” Freeman said of his hiring of Denbrock. “Honestly, I want to give credit to our administration, to [outgoing director of athletics Jack Swarbrick], and the commitment they’ve made to make sure we can hire the best possible candidates to come into this program. Me and [Denbrock] go back over the years together at Cincinnati. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, the great offensive coordinator that he is.”
Things We Learned: As good as Steve Angeli looked in the Sun Bowl on Friday, the lasting impression came from a pair of Notre Dame receivers not seen often enough this season -- https://t.co/vGLLn0Ighi
— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) December 31, 2023
Like Guidugli’s job in the Sun Bowl, Denbrock’s task in 2024 will be made easier by Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden.
Notre Dame’s defense was so good in 2023, it was only logical many would wonder if Golden may find a head-coaching gig, but the 2023 carousel has effectively reached its conclusion, and Golden remains in South Bend.
“Golden has had that defense prepared all year long,” Freeman said Friday evening after the Irish gave up just 27 rushing yards (sacks adjusted) on 12 carries. “I’d be lying if I said I was surprised. I wasn’t. I expect a lot out of that defense.
“And when you’re playing well on defense, now it gives your offense a chance to have some confidence and move the ball.”
That offensive confidence will be available in part because Notre Dame spent December wooing back four defenders up the middle to give Golden arguably the best backbone in the country in 2024 in defensive tackles Howard Cross and Rylie Mills, linebacker Jack Kiser and unanimous All-American safety Xavier Watts.
Notre Dame's strength in 2023 was its defense.
— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) December 31, 2023
That won't change in 2024, not with unanimous All-American safety Xavier Watts announcing he will return for his final season -- https://t.co/bDWevih4AY
“We always say you want to be good up the middle,” Freeman said. This can be good in baseball, football or on defense. When you talk about those two [defensive tackles] who have started going on three years now for our defense, they’re the foundation of what we do. To have those guys back for this game and for the future, I think we’ll have great benefits in our program.”
The Irish reached 10-3 and a top-15 ranking to end 2023 largely because of that defense, greater heights undone by ineffective offensive showings on the road at Louisville and at Clemson, games in which Notre Dame averaged 4.94 yards combined.
The combination of Denbrock and Leonard, protected by Jagusah, should raise that floor enough to give Freeman reason to believe an 11- or 12-win season can arrive in his third year, following 10 and nine in his first two.
“I’m just really pleased with our program, where we’re at now, and the direction that we see in the future,” Freeman said. “... I’m confident in the direction of this football program, with the guys that we’re bringing in, the guys we have, the coaches that we have on this staff. I’m really excited as we move forward.”