The Marcus Freeman era at Notre Dame hit its lowest point last weekend in a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. The Irish entered as a 28.5-point favorite and looked like a shell of the team that marched into College Station and came away with a 23-13 triumph over Texas A&M less than a week prior.
Days after the monumental win over the Aggies, marking perhaps the most impressive result in Freeman's tenure in South Bend, the third-year coach received a call from his old college coach at Ohio State, Jim Tressel, who echoed to his former player that the "greatest danger is the illusion that all is well when indeed all isn't well."
"About 10 minutes ago, I got a call from my college coach, expecting to hear something great," Freeman said last Monday at the beginning of ND's game week vs. NIU. "That was the reminder that I needed more than anything. It was a big win for our program versus a good opponent, but we have so much work to really improve on."
What ensued leading up to the showdown against Northern Illinois was a week full of physical practices that ultimately set Freeman's up program for failure. Notre Dame had a path as clear as day to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff based on what the remainder of its schedule looked like after the win over Texas A&M, but that path looks murky based on the most recent result.
In the aftermath of the loss, Freeman indicated Notre Dame bought too much into its rising stock.
"This is the first time in my three years as a head coach that we have won the big game early in the season," Freeman said. "Two losses to Ohio State and then all of a sudden, we win and everybody says, 'Hey, you're going to the playoff. You've got an easy schedule.' We all hear it, and I think we started to believe that. ... There is a physical approach to preparing for a game, and I think physically we prepared the right way," he said, "but there's also a mental approach and a mindset that you have to have every single week, and I think that's where we failed."
Irish Illustrated's Tim Prister outlined why there is more to the story than just the Irish believing the hype after the Week 1 win over Texas A&M and how the week of preparation leading up to the game is what resulted in the stunning defeat.
"Freeman put the pedal to the metal, following the advice of his former head coach whose view -- although insightful to him the last few years -- came from 30,000 feet," Prister wrote. "One size doesn't fit all. Freeman followed the advice of a man who did not know what this team and these players needed to take his team across a threshold against Northern Illinois."
Nine of Notre Dame's 11 offensive drives against Northern Illinois resulted in 32 yards of offense or less. And the defense that looked physically imposing against Texas A&M? The unit allowed 388 yards of total offense -- the most Notre Dame has allowed in its 17 games -- to a team that ranked in the middle of most major offensive categories last season.
Notre Dame transfer quarterback Riley Leonard has also looked like a shell of the player who starred in the early parts of last season at Duke. The Irish are one of five FBS programs (Northwestern, Air Force, Miami (OH), and Western Michigan being the others) that haven't thrown a touchdown pass this season. Notre Dame is also the only FBS team without a completion of more than 20 yards.
When Notre Dame faces Purdue on the road in the battle for the Shillelagh Trophy Saturday on CBS at 3:30 p.m., they will have to get back to what helped them knock off Texas A&M. The Irish's CFP hopes count on it.
"If Freeman is objective," Prister writes, "he'll likely conclude that his mid-week approach left his players physically, mentally and emotionally unprepared to play quality football against Northern Illinois. It was on full display for the entire nation to see."
Notre Dame fans should click here to read more from Tim Prister and the rest of the Irish Illustrated experts. Prister's latest article includes a comprehensive column ahead of Notre Dame's game vs. Purdue.
Additionally, Irish Illustrated's Tim O'Malley emptied the notebook with a whopping 98 thoughts following the loss to NIU and ahead of the Purdue game.
