Notre Dame Undefeated After Off-Weeks Under Marcus Freeman

The Irish are looking to maintain a positive trend vs Stanford

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his team onto the field for the game against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame vs Stanford

Notre Dame has been getting great results after extended breaks

Certainly, there are areas of the Notre Dame program that have been inconsistent under Marcus Freeman. Results after a break in the schedule have not been one of those areas.

In 2023, Notre Dame steamrolled Wake Forest 45-7 and wrecked Pittsburgh 58-7 coming out of breaks. In 2022, the Irish downed BYU by a score of 28-20 coming after the extra time.

The results have been impressive for Freeman and his staff. Now Stanford has to deal with it.

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman leads his players into Notre Dame Stadium before the game against the Louisville Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Focus in the right areas at the right time

Off weeks are tricky to navigate in college football. Every team needs mental and physical breaks throughout the weekly grind that is a college football season, but how you manage them matters. College players and coaches are creatures of habit and routine. Both of which are altered during an off-week.

Marcus Freeman's record post breaks indicate he has a good pulse of what his team needs over the time off. A balance between recovery and preparation for what comes next is a tough needle to thread but so far Freeman has done so flawlessly.

In a year where Notre Dame has faced such a large number of injuries, the Irish's depth will be tested the second half of the season and emerging out of each of the breaks in the schedule as the Irish try to sweep seven games in a row in a CFP push.

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