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Sep. 18—SOUTH BEND — Marcus Freeman certainly loves his taglines.
Discussing the “12-guranteed opportunities” his players have each season is a common calling card. His players have historically cited it too.
Saturday, when the RedHawks of Miami-OH enter into Notre Dame Stadium, it feels as if this “opportunity” is much more magnified than any other time his team has faced off against a Group of Five team.
For the Irish, it’s either show up, or show yourself out.
“Just the preparation, the mindset,” Freeman said when asked what Notre Dame can take away from its 66-7 victory over Purdue Saturday. “It can’t take a loss to have the mentality that we have to have mentally and physically to prepare the right way for an opponent.”
Following the 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois (who remain 2-0 and ranked No. 23 after being idle last week) two weeks ago, Freeman, his staff and Notre Dame players were forced to rough up Purdue in the historic rout of the Boilermakers.
It was probably enjoyable for fans to watch the Irish dismantle a team picked last in the 18-team Big 10. Notre Dame’s offense, the main subject underneath the microscope’s lens, totaled 578 yards with 362 of that on the ground.
Quarterback Riley Leonard rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 112 more yards through the air. Jeremiyah Love, arguably the teams greatest spark on offense, ran for 109 yards in just 10 carries while backfield partner Jadarian Price ran for 86 yards, most from a 70-yard breakaway house call to signal the end of the first half.
While fun, it was also frustrating to see the team fire away without any struggle when a week ago, asking the Irish to not end a drive in three plays was too much to ask.
Those three-and-outs also showed up last weekend. After scoring on its opening drive, the Irish sputtered in a two-yard, three-play drive. Then, once Notre Dame went up 14-0 after scoring on its third drive, the fourth time with the ball saw them fail to move the sticks once more.
“That’s a challenge that we have to get better at,” Freeman said. “You score the first drive, three-and-out, second drive. Score the third drive, [then] three-and-out the fourth drive. You’re not going to score every drive, but we have to be able to move the chains and look at the reasons why we went three-and-out and what happened on those series.”
Sustained drives would have put away the Huskies two weeks ago. The chance to put another Mid-American Conference foe away will be on the agenda this weekend. If the Irish want to continue turning the page, struggling against the RedHawks — albeit, a talented team that won the MAC a year ago and has lost narrowly to both Northwestern (13-6) and rival Cincinnati (27-16) — wouldn’t only harm the odds of pushing back against the naysayers.
Staying true to the offense’s identity would be a starting point Saturday.
“I think you still have to be committed to running the ball, and that’s what our identity is,” Freeman said. “We want to be able to run the ball, and you have to be patient. But you also, as what happened two weeks ago, you can’t go three-and-out and three-and-out and then just say, ‘OK, let’s keep running the ball.’ You’ve got to move the chains and [you’ve] got to change the field position. So, we’ve got a couple guys that can run the ball and take it all the way. We know that, and so we’ve got to continue to play to our strengths.”
INJURY UPDATES
Notre Dame announced a new batch of season-ending injuries following the Purdue game. The impact mostly affects the already thin offensive line.
Vyper Jordan Botelho (knee) and center Ashton Craig (knee) will be out for the season while right guard Billy Schrauth will be out for a few weeks with an ankle injury.
That means junior Pat Coogan with step into the center role this Saturday and senior Rocco Spindler will move over to the right side after being the backup to left guard Sam Pendleton.
Freeman also added that wide receiver Jordan Faison should be back this week after missing the last two contest.
Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.