Newness is in the air at South Bend, Indiana. Following 12 seasons under Brian Kelly, the Fighting Irish have a new man in charge. Or make that a Freeman. Marcus Freeman was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach after Kelly skipped out to LSU. Kelly believed he took the program as far as it could go with the college football odds. In turn, the temperamental taskmaster tired of the Notre Dame recruiting restrictions. Specifically, it was too difficult to work around the obstacles to attain 5-star talent. At LSU, there are no such restrictions.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Future Odds at SBG
| Prop | Odds |
|---|---|
| To Win the National Championship | +4600 |
| Over-Under Win Total | 9.5 |
A Daunting Task for a Rookie Head Coach
Notre Dame thrived under a successful veteran head coach in its glory years. For example, Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian arrived at South Bend with strong head coaching credibility earned elsewhere. Notre Dame has never been considered a good fit for a rookie head coach. Now rookie head coach Freeman, age 36, faces the pressure cooker.
At the onset, Freeman has tried to sell Notre Dame’s academic prowess as a recruiting tool. Ironically, it made Freeman look somewhat old school in this day of players getting paid. Freeman is celebrated as an ace recruiter. Indeed, Freeman turned in a highly ranked online betting class in the 2022 cycle. Most services had Notre Dame ranked 6th in the nation.
Of major concern is how Notre Dame is a pressure cooker type of job. Fans demand national championships. While that is no longer realistic, the history of the Fighting Irish football program feeds into that. Once upon a time, Notre Dame was the Gold Standard of college football. But the last national championship season for the Fighting Irish was in 1988. Since then, they haven’t been close.
A Player’s Coach
Initially, Marcus Freeman was labeled a “player’s coach.” And he hardly ducked the moniker. Instead, Freeman wears it as a badge of honor and a selling point to recruits. Brian Kelly was never in the “player’s coach” class. Kelly was often a tyrant. And he was not at all personable. But he was a big-time winner that went 92-39 with the College football betting odds.
Since 2017 the Fighting Irish have won at least ten games every season. They have finished 8th or better in the final national polls in three of the past four years. Kelly led Notre Dame to two College Football Playoff appearances. Also, the Irish made a BCS national championship game. But it was in those postseason matchups where Notre Dame was exposed. The Fighting Irish discovered that was their ceiling. They were utterly outclassed when it mattered most. And that exposed the frustrating limitations of the program.
Players’ coaches often get chewed up and spit out at the big-time level. Freeman will have the challenge of trying to maintain discipline. To summarize, he better win or else.
A Bowl Game Shocker and Reality Check
Freeman’s first game as head coach was in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State. Notre Dame jumped out to a 28-7 lead. Freeman was being hailed as the program savior. But then the Cowboys scored 30 unanswered points to take the game 37-35. It was a humbling experience for Freeman. And as he said, his coaching honeymoon ended at that moment.