Marcus Freeman’s Contract Extension Adds New Pressure to Indiana Game

Marcus Freeman’s extension raises stakes for Notre Dame’s matchup against Indiana. Can the Irish deliver under added scrutiny?

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during a game against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Unique pressure to beat Indiana weighed heavily on Freeman even before extension news

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his Notre Dame squad drew a fascinating matchup in round one of the CFP.

Along with the expected level of pressure that comes with any playoff game, much less the first national showcase game of the new format, the Hoosiers as the opponent added more wrinkles to an already pressure-packed dynamic.

Notre Dame is known as the football school in Indiana. It would be a brutal practical and perceptual hit to lose to an upstart Indiana team that has been out of sight and out of mind for almost every Irish fan.

Furthermore, a win for the Hoosiers would be the biggest in program history. Under no circumstances can the Irish start and end their home slate allowing underdogs to collect the biggest wins in ever for two difference schools.

Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman have agreed to a long-term extension that will make him among the highest-paid coaches in the country, a university official confirmed to ESPN on Sunday. https://t.co/7a5JBL5N3o

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 16, 2024

Signing the extension just days before a playoff game adds pressure, rightfully or wrongly

It makes sense that new Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua and Marcus Freeman and his representatives wanted to get this deal done before the chaos of the CFP hits. But with the news of the deal coming out just days before Notre Dame's mega matchup with Indiana, more pressure has been placed upon Freeman to deliver.

The deal is done, and that will not change should Notre Dame lose to Indiana, that's not how these things work. That being said, perceptually, it would be a brutal look for Freeman to drop this game just days after inking a new deal.

If this were to occur, questions would surely arise about the timing of the deal potentially being made too soon before Marcus even collects a single playoff win as Irish head coach to further prove himself to the Notre Dame fan base and Irish power structure.

Questions would also arise, fairly or unfairly regarding if this negotiation was a distraction to the preparation for the upcoming game.

For these reasons and the ones discussed above, the practical and perceptual implications of the outcome of the Indiana battle are real and stark. Success or failure, with no margin in between.

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