Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Takes Blame For Defensive Blunder vs. Buckeyes

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed that Notre Dame did not know it had 10 men on the field during the infamous final play.

Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman confirmed Monday during his weekly press conference that he did not know the defense only had 10 men on the field for the final two plays in its 17-14 loss to Ohio State. 

During the final drive, Notre Dame failed to add another player to the defense after Kyle McCord missed Marvin Harrison Jr. on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. The Buckeyes substituted a running back on the next play, which would have allowed the Irish to also change up their personnel. 

By the time Freeman noticed, it was too late. Buckeyes senior running back Chip Trayanum punched in the game-winning score to take a three-point lead with one second left on the clock. 

“There’s a whole bunch of systems in place to make sure that doesn’t happen, but ultimately it falls on me,” Freeman told reporters. “That’s the reality. I’m not gonna get up here and say this person should have done that, ultimately I have to do a better job as the head coach to make sure those systems we have in place are executed.

“We as a coaching staff should be held to the exact same standards that we tell our players. We tell our players fight the drift. You can’t get caught watching the game. Coaches gotta win the interval too. We all have to own that and make sure that never happens.”

The play likely should have never occurred following the timeout. Ohio State missed two passes from the 1-yard line before electing to run it in. On the first play, Ryan Day didn't notice the Irish were without a defensive lineman. 

By the second play, he took advantage by trusting the run game to seal the deal. 

Freeman said the staff had discussed a signal to receive a penalty and stop the clock. If a defensive player made contact with someone on Ohio State's sideline, the ball would have moved up six inches, but it also would have allowed the Irish to add in an 11th man. 

However, if a player were to run on the field and contact wasn't made, the touchdown still would have counted. 

"What we learned from that situation is that, (1), don't ever be in the situation where you've got 10 guys on the field, but (2), if something happens, we have to have a signal to tell somebody to jump offsides and touch somebody," Freeman said. 

The Irish tried to ice the game after making a fourth-don stop with 4:12 remaining. Sam Hartman drove downfield with a 12-yard pass to Rico Flores Jr. Audric Estime rushed for 11 yards on the following play to move the sticks and put Notre Dame at its own 34-yard line. 

Three plays later, the Irish were forced to punt. Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerald Parker tried to figure out the next-best solution by bleeding the clock down to 1:26 remaining. 

McCord, who finished with 240 passing yards, completed five passes on the final drive, including a 21-yard reception to Emeka Egbuka on a third-and-19 to set the Buckeyes up at the goal line. 

"It hurts. I forgot the pain of losing," Freeman said. "It's a physical pain that takes time to get through. You get through it. Time heals everything. Monday, we're ready to go."

The Buckeyes enter their bye week still undefeated following a scare in South Bend. They'll return to Ohio Stadium on Oct. 7 to face Maryland at Noon. 

The No. 11 Irish must put the loss behind them before their matchup against No. 17 Duke in Durham, N.C.

"We really can become a better football team because of a loss," said Freeman of Notre Dame moving forward. "If we do that, watch out."