Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman Not Underestimating Struggling Florida State

The Fighting Irish are focused on not letting the matchup against the Seminoles turn into a trap.

Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman sings the Notre Dame alma mater with teammates after the game against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Florida State Seminoles are back on the road this week for the final time in 2024, this time facing the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The last time the two teams faced off was in 2021 when Brian Kelly's Notre Dame squad escaped Tallahassee with a win after a hard-fought overtime victory.

Things have changed since then, and the Irish are under new leadership with Marcus Freeman in his third year as head coach of the program. While the Irish have been relatively consistent in his tenure as head coach, with just 8 losses between 2022 and 2024, this year has undoubtedly been the best of the Freeman era as Notre Dame currently sits at 8-1.

READ MORE: Florida State Releases Depth Chart For Road Matchup Against No. 10 Notre Dame

Despite their success and the lack of such in Tallahassee, Freeman knows that the team coming to South Bend on Saturday, is a much better team than what shows on paper, and he has no intention of letting his team underestimate the Seminoles.

"Moving on to Florida State, it's a very talented football team, and it doesn't take long to turn on the film and realize how talented they are. They might be one of the most talented teams we face all year, and that's just what the film tells you. Their record doesn't reflect their talent, they've had to deal with some injuries, especially at QB, and that has affected the outcome of their games. Our team must and we will respect the challenge Saturday night here in Notre Dame Stadium that Florida State will present, and we have to continue to respect that by the way we prepare, so this is a crucial week of preparation," Freeman said.

Freeman continued to dive into what he sees from Florida State, and how, despite their 1-8 record not being anywhere near what was expected in the preseason, he knows the talent that the Seminoles bring to the table and he also knows that he cannot afford to let his team think this is going to be an easy victory.

"Yes, their record might not be where they want it to be, but you know, I'm not trying to make this team something they're not. They are a talented talented football team, and that's going to be my message to the team. We respect our opponent, you don't have to watch many plays to realize how talented they are, and we've got to do the things in preparation to make sure we give our program the best chance of success on Saturday, and that's what we've got to remember," Freeman said.

While the Irish sit at 8-1 and are among the best teams in the country with multiple ranked wins and blowout victories, they still have one loss, which could very well go down as the biggest upset in all of college football this year. In week 2 the Northern Illinois Huskies, who are currently 4-4, traveled to Notre Dame and defeated the Irish 16-14. Since that game, Freeman has used the loss as an example of what happens when there is a lack of preparation, and reminds his team to not forget what happened on that day.

"It's a mental preparation and a physical preparation, and we know what the result is when you don't mentally prepare the right way. We know it, and that's why I always say keep the pain of NIU because that's the result of not having the right mindset. It's important that our guys understand that, and you're going to be presented with two options, choose easy or choose hard, and my message will continue to be that we have only one option, and it's choose hard, and that's what we have to do to continue to elevate as a program."

While this is the first time Freeman will face Mike Norvell as a head coach, Freeman is no stranger to Norvell and his offensive schemes. Since 2019, Freeman has faced a Norvell coached squad three times as a defensive coordinator, and allowed a total of 101 points to Norvell's offenses. Freeman noted that he has a great deal of respect for what Norvell has done not only as a head coach, but as an offensive mind.

"I think about 2019 when I was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, we faced Mike Norvell twice. He was the head coach at Memphis, and I've had a lot of respect for him as a head coach and offensive mind since those two games, we played them back-to-back. He's an innovative mind, and as I got to here in 2021, again he has a unique ability to every week to do something to put your defense in conflict. I talked with coach (Al) Golden today about how it's even hard to say this is what they do because you can see that every week he's trying to do what he can to help his offense have success. He's not just going to say 'This is what we do,' we're gonna give you different formations, do different concepts, so I have a lot of respect for him," Freeman said.

Florida State will take on Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday, November 9th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST. This marks the 12th time the two programs have faced off, as FSU currently leads the series 6-5.

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READ MORE: Florida State Releases Nine 'Notes To Know' For Road Game Against Notre Dame

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