Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame Showing Rapid Growth This Season

Irish riding seven-game winning streak

Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman stands with his players for the Notre Dame Alma Mater after defeating the Florida State Seminoles at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

A rocky start could've doomed Notre Dame football in 2024

No team in America had a more dramatic beginning of the 2024 season than Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame. After marching into "the toughest place to play in America", and defeating Texas A&M by double digits, the Irish no-showed at home the next week and lost to Northern Illinois as a nearly five-score favorite.

This defeat was crushing. It meant that Notre Dame would likely have to win out to have a chance to make the College Football Playoff field. The stress of this reality plus a rash of injuries to many key contributors could've easily sent Notre Dame down a morbid path to 9-3 or 8-4, but it didn't. Marcus Freeman stayed the course, steadied the ship, and his team, just like him, is growing into a better form of itself currently enjoying a seven-game winning streak.

HERE COME THE IRISH ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/47ndNYf2NQ

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 10, 2024

Impressive run not over yet

Notre Dame's 8-1 record is the best Freeman has had in any of his years at Notre Dame by this date on the calendar. During the current seven-game winning streak his team has outscored the opposition 308-71 and only one of the ballgames ended up being remotely competitive. What an incredible bounce back.

Notre Dame has grown a lot as a team since early in the year, and Marcus Freeman has grown a ton personally in his coaching journey as well. He seems much more confident and consistent now in his messaging and how he carries himself than he did in his first two years on the job and even just earlier this season. It feels like he's coming into his own along with his team and it's been a joy to watch.

But the journey isn't over yet. For this growth arc to truly be special, the team needs to win the remaining three contests. The team has come much too far to have another letdown now. Notre Dame is trending up, in November, and in the middle of a playoff chase, the timing couldn't be better.

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