Notre Dame: The Team That Won’t Quit Just Beat Georgia

Notre Dame’s relentless spirit defines its 12-game winning streak. Now it's on to Penn State.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts to a play against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Turning point of season comes from unlikely source

After week one of the 2024 college football season, one would've thought that Notre Dame's victory over Texas A&M would be the turning point of the year.

Getting a road SEC win was a terrific accomplishment. It turns out that what happened the next week was the key. No, the Irish didn't build on their week one SEC road win, Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois in the home opener.

In that moment it felt like the season, and Marcus Freeman's credibility, were both hanging on by a thread. There was a clear fork in the road when the dust settled after the defeat at the hands of the Huskies.

Notre Dame could feel sorry for themselves, go into the tank, go 9-3 or 8-4, or vow to get better each week and not lose again.

The latter is exactly what's happened as the Irish ride a 12-game win streak just one victory away from playing for a national title.

Marcus Freeman was HYPED after Notre Dame's fight song 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fd6dkl9sKR

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2025

"Next man up" usually spells doom, but not for this Irish team

Notre Dame has suffered a slew of major injuries this season to key starting or rotational players. The whole "next man up" mantra is easy to say in these situations, but harder to execute.

The reality is, most of the time the next man up isn't the first man in because he isn't as good as the other player. For as much as they try, a drop-off in production is the common outcome.

The Irish have bucked that trend. It's hard to replace Benjamin Morrison in the secondary, Traore and Botelho along the line with Mills now added to that list. Notre Dame has recruited, developed, and worked the portal well enough to be able to survive an amount of injuries that would cripple many programs, including Notre Dame's not long ago.

This Irish team has a great blend of player leadership and terrific coaching led by a charismatic coach under 40 years old who has brought life back into a Notre Dame program that has felt stagnant for decades, even in good years. There's a different edge to this program under Marcus Freeman. A winning edge.

This Notre Dame team never quits. They fight and win like past teams of Irish lore. I think Frank Leahy himself, the ultimate Irish winner would be darn proud of his program as it stands, and that's the ultimate compliment.

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