AP Top 25 Takeaways: 3 years in at Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman is again explaining a stunning loss

[Music] the most crucial aspect of coaching college football at a prestigious University is something Marcus Freeman still hasn't mastered winning against the opponents you're supposed to lose again to his CV which had included losing at home to Marshall and a Stanford team that was in the middle of a 3 to9 season in 2022 the Notre Dame coach can now add a surprise home defeat on Saturday against 28 Underdog Northern Illinois Freeman informed reporters we've been here before kind of this one is far worse Freeman has been guiding the Fighting Irish for three years now despite being only 38 years old his lack of experience no longer serves as a valid excuse Brean and his group neither as coaches it is our responsibility to ensure that these boys are prepared for Action I've always maintained that preparation reflects in performance he said after a convincing Road victory over Texas A&M Notre Dame entered week two ranked Fifth and seemed to have the most feasible route the college football playoff in the nation beginning at home against a Mid-American Conference opponent the Fighting Irish took a 1413 lead after Jeremiah Love's game-winning touchdown run in the the third quarter their only other scoring opportunity of the day for a time that seemed to be sufficient but Riley Leonard the recently acquired quarterback from Notre Dame and the offense were never able to add more with around 6 minutes remaining you could practically Feel the fear creeping in beneath Touchdown Jesus when Leonard threw a horrifying underthrown interception that set up the Huskies at midfi the Irish were unable to win the end despite a few glaring officiating errors in the last minute including a Miss spotted ball that lost NIU a first down and officials forgetting to start the clock after a measure Northern Illinois controlled the ball for almost 10 more minutes outpaced Notre Dame by 102 yards and performed better on third down however how excitedly Freeman was hired when Brian Kelly left for LSU admittedly he was a rookie head coach but he seemed to be the complete opposite of Kelly he had a connection that Kelly never had with players and fans he was Charming enthusiastic and in the moment Kelly was never well-liked in South Bend despite having the most game wins during a 12-year period any coach in Notre Dame's legendary history Kelly had to endure multiple early defeats to teams like Tulsa Navy and South Florida before he finally figured out the recipe for Success at Notre Dame Kelly's Club had seven consecutive Seasons with 10 wins two four team playoff visits and success in 2017 Kelly's teams were criticized for not being able to compete with the greatest teams or win the biggest games however he did well in the games he was expected to win and the Irish supporters were moved by his performance being the main story of of the weekend after losing to a massive Underdog isn't the most attractive quality in a college football coat but it keeps things calm since 2022 there have been 28 college football games in which a home favorite by at least 16 points lost according to Chris phall of Fox Sports three of them are currently in Freeman's squad for Notre Dame coaches year three is traditionally a huge one full of championship games appearances and national championships from all appearances this seemed to be Freeman's best Squad yet but it's possible that we underestimated the challenges that a completely redesigned offensive line would bring however it remains to be seen in the home opener against a Mac team we have a 1-1 split we must acknowledge that reality however safety Xavier Watts warned reporters that the season was far from over he he is accurate this year's 12 team college football playoff Alters everything but Notre Dame was always likely to come under close examination from the selection committee due to a week schedule perhaps that will change Louisville is ranked 22nd USC ranked 13th one after defeating Kelly's LSU Squad it has a stretch to it we are responsible for this every coach everyone is present at this place it's something we all have to own Freeman said oh you most certainly will miss Michigan you might argue that the first half of number three Texas route of number 10 Michigan settled the score but in actuality it was most likely decided in December when the Wolverines blocked the transfer be fair Jim Harbaugh Michigan's head coach who everyone with internet access knew was most certainly returning to the NFL had the team poised to win a National Championship it was certainly not the best way to begin rebuilding a squad that was set to send over a dozen players to the NFL even still it's hard to imagine Michigan's new coach Chiron Moore starting the season with this quarterback dilemma in this era of college football free agency although Davis Warren is an inspiring tale of a cancer survivor who is more valuable as a starting player than most walk G he doesn't now seem ready to start for a club that is regarded as a playoff Contender although Alex orgy had only thrown six passes in his career during his first two seasons at Michigan he seemed to be the clear successor to first round draft selection JJ McCarthy the 6'3 235b Texan would provide the Wolverines offense with a rushing threat to nothing more Warren however outperformed him after three quarters Lauren had just 73 yards passing and had thrown two picks in Kentucky are experiencing first hand the unpredictability of a transfer quarterback what would have appeared in a maze and blue winged helmet this year for Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord eight touchdown throws in two games for Syracuse could we consider a player who is still in the process of development Eli Holstein a trans transer from Alabama has led pit to a twoz lead with six touchdown passes and two 300 yd passing games mik Murphy a Texas transfer five touchdown passes and leads Duke two to zero of course Michigan's offense is dealing with more than just its quarterback it is the most obvious problem I was more concerned with what we could do to improve than I was with the growing pain Mo said we were aware of this as a new new team we never try to take our victory over last year's National Title lightly cross the nation right now Georgia Texas and Alabama the three teams from the Southeastern Conference are ranked in the top four by AP Tennessee at number 14 may be nearer that group than its ranking indicate volunteers dominated NC State ranked number 24 James Franklin pen State's coach could provide some counsil for ban the eighth ranked nney Lions trailed another Max School Bowling Green by 24 points and 289 yards in the first half but they corrected their mistakes at halftime win by a single touchdown Penn State supporters were undoubtedly unhappy but this weekend Happy Valley is a better place to be than South Bend as nearly losing is still winning tough non-conference games were won by Big 12 Challengers number 16 Oklahoma State and number 17 Kansas State both of whom need second half comeback in double overtime Cowboys defeated the Razer backs by taking advantage of a ton of Errors made by them including 648 yards to tailon Green another attractive transfer the wild cats needed a late scoop and score to escape New Orleans undefeated and they were fortunate to have Tain called for offensive pass interference few top teams faced unranked opponents with less luck Iowa State overcame number 21 Iowa thanks to a last second 54 yard field goal from red shirt freshman kicker Kyle conrady the first time since 2019 Illinois triumphed against a highly regarded non-conference opponent feeding number 19 Camp 4 6ear quarterback cam Rising had to leave the game due to a hand injury number 11 Utah was leading Baylor Utah was leading Baylor the youths declared that rising's injury was not significant as they wrapped up the win it's better not to think about how Utah's offense functions in his abs Bryant Vincent uab's interim coach was passed over in favor of the unconventional and eye-catching hiring of former Super Bowl winner Trent dfur who was coaching a high school team in Tennesse Louisiana Monroe during the off season and on Saturday ULM defeated UAB 32-6 number 25 Clemson defeated appalachin State 35 in the first quarter displaying the performance of a team weary of hearing that it is no longer a viable Contender for the national championship