The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish had an incredible regular season, going 11-1, with quarterback Riley Leonard and star running back Jeremiyah Love leading the offense with their chemistry. Defensively, linebacker Jack Kiser, defensive lineman Rylie Mills and safety Xavier Watts often stood out as central players in a game. But these are only a few of the great. Each teammate had a moment to shine throughout the season.
But the Irish’s glaring shortcoming must also be noted. After an exciting home win against Texas A&M University to begin their year, the Irish fell short to Northern Illinois University (NIU) the following week, losing 14-16. The game blurred their road to the championship only two weeks into the season; however, while crushing, the loss held value. Notre Dame familiarized themselves with utter defeat so early on that subsequent battles were arguably fought for with more fervor. One of the most significant signs of this was seen in the Irish’s defining final regular season matchup against the University of Southern California (USC), when the score was tensely tied at the half. Notre Dame’s shot at the championship, which had been discussed as something so distant from them after the NIU loss, was right at their fingertips. They came out in the second half, ready to finish, and they did. This level of momentum in these kinds of moments landed them in Atlanta last Monday.
On what is arguably the biggest stage in college sports, Notre Dame and the Ohio State University Buckeyes fought for what they have been inching towards all year and then some. Ohio State was heavily favored (especially amid Notre Dame’s many injuries) and continually outshined the Irish on the field. However, Notre Dame played a full and strident game. As Irish defensive lineman Howard Cross III described, “We didn’t give up. We didn’t stop…We still kept fighting until the very end.” But however strong the fight was, it was not enough to defeat one of the toughest opponents in college football. The game ended favoring the Buckeyes 34-23.
The outcome can obviously be viewed as a disappointment to Irish fans. But the very fact that they had the chance to lose contrasts with recent decades of Notre Dame’s program. The Irish haven’t won a national title since 1988, and the truth is, since the early 1990s, they have not been able to win a “big” game. This year, they ran through them. “We’ve been on a three-game playoff streak,” Cross III added, “and before this year, it was unfathomable for us to even win a playoff game… We couldn’t finish, but we’ve changed the narrative of who we are as a program.”
While the Irish didn’t bring home the title, their positioning in the championship reflected the resilience they had chased for years before. Notre Dame, for the first time in 30 years, are playing like champions when it matters most.
But why is this the team bringing back “Notre Dame football” — the program built on iconic culture, strength and victory? Why not previous ones, the ones with legendary players such as Kyle Hamilton, Quenton Nelson or Brady Quinn? The clearest answer would be Head Coach Marcus Freeman. Freeman took control of the Irish in 2021 and made adjustments in many areas — but the most notable would be recruitment and confidence.
The depth of the team has clearly deepened. Looking back at recent seasons, matchups like their 2018 game against the Clemson University Tigers proved backups were unreliable when star defensive back Julian Love was injured, and the Tigers immediately took grasp of the win. But now, under Freeman (in addition to key players such as Rylie Mills and Anthonie Knapp getting injured during the playoffs and allowing backups to prove their abilities), when the Irish lost their quarterback in key moments of the semi-final game against the Penn State University Nittany Lions, backup quarterback Steve Angeli was able to hold down the fort and lead the team to an essential field goal. This depth of talent, something once foreign to the Irish, is now a factor in what kept them running. In addition to the physical changes of the game, Freeman has made an equally immense mental impact on players.
“The culture’s changed,” Cross III continued in his interview following the championship game. “I don’t know how to describe it, but people are confident. With these games, prior to this year, it was like, ‘Whoa, I don’t know about that.’ Now, not a single person is thinking we’re going to lose.”
Despite Notre Dame falling short of the championship title, the team depicted what could lie ahead. Throughout the season, but especially once injuries befell, underclassmen displayed the shining talent of years to follow. The Irish will be losing several major performers next season, including Leonard, Kiser, Mills and Cross III, but they will continue to grow those like Love and standout wide receiver Jaden Greathouse.
Irish safety Adon Shuler may have best summed up the confidence and culture Notre Dame football has always been built upon and may have recently strayed away from until now; in a post-game interview, when asked why he believed Notre Dame could win it all, he answered: “Why not Notre Dame?”
