"We Believed The Hype." Freeman Says Irish Failed Mentally Against NIU

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Heading into their game with Northern Illinois the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked fifth in the nation and coming off a win in one of the toughest places to play in College Station, Texas on the campus of #20 Texas A&M.

The Irish defeated the Aggies in a classic bout in which Notre Dame announced itself as a contender for the College Football Playoff. So, it would be logical to expect the Irish to have a much easier time in front of a more friendly crowd inside Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend a week later. Plus, by all accounts, and the $1.4 million paycheck being forked over by the Notre Dame athletic department, you have an opponent in Northern Illinois who on paper simply does not measure up to the stature the Irish had.

If you read all that, that’s a lot of hype surrounding the Notre Dame football squad just one game into the season…. and head coach Marcus Freeman said in his Monday press conference that his team believed it all.

“We have to learn how to handle success,” Freeman said. “This is the first time in my three years as a head coach that we have won the big game early in the season. When everyone says: ‘You’re going to the playoffs. You’ve got an easy schedule.’ we all hear it and I think we started to believe that.”

Freeman said Northern Illinois made his squad “too lateral” instead of the aggressive team they had been against the Aggies. Especially when it comes to his defense.

“That’s not who we are,” he added. “We are an aggressive, attacking defense that plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. (NIU) made our guys play ‘fitball’ and not football. We have to be aggressive on the other side of the line of scrimmage this week.”

Speaking of this week, the Irish, having dropped like a stone in water from fifth to 18th in the AP Top 25, have a chance to bounce back against a Purdue Boilermaker team they have not seen since 2021 when Notre Dame scraped by the Boilers 27-13 in Notre Dame Stadium. Three years later, the rivalry will be renewed in West Lafayette.

Having addressed the defensive shortcomings of their loss to NIU, the Huskies first over a top ten opponent, another elephant in the room that will certainly need to be addressed as the Fighting Irish prepare for the young and upstart Boilermakers will undoubtedly have to be the lackluster performance through the air by quarterback Riley Leonard and his core of talented wide receivers.

“There’s opportunities to throw the ball down the field. We just got to do it,” said Freeman. “We got to make the decision to throw it there. We try to create opportunities to push the ball down the field and for whatever reason, we haven’t done it.”

Leonard and company averaged a measly 4.9 yards per attempt through the air with an average of 8.9 yards per completion. Northern Illinois doubled that effort, also outgaining the Irish on the ground. This tenacious performance by NIU also led to the Huskies dominating time of possession, making it even harder for Notre Dame to find any sort of consistency.

In the spirit of no longer listening to any sort of hype or prognostication, Freeman is choosing to not acknowledge the fact that Purdue is expected to finish last in a revamped Big Ten this season and that the Boilermakers’ only game this season is against Indiana State of the FCS ranks.

“They are a team as you watch film from last year to this year has continued to improve under Coach Walters,” Freeman said. “I have a lot of respect for (Purdue QB) Hudson Card. They do a really good job of running the football.”

Freeman also gave praise to Graham Herrell, Purdue’s defensive coordinator.

Though Freeman will no longer look ahead at aspirations and hopes of the College Football Playoff, it cannot be understated for those who do look ahead at that sort of thing how important Saturday match-up is for Notre Dame. Because if the Irish have one more slip-up, then any remaining hopes of a meaningful post-season will have had it before the meat of the season can truly be enjoyed.

“We Believed The Hype.” Freeman Says Irish Failed Mentally Against Northern Illinois  was originally published on wibc.com