There is one major change still needed for Notre Dame football and head coach Marcus Freeman

Most Notre Dame football fans are very excited about the Irish program, not only for what they could be for the rest of 2024, but for the long term as well. Head coach Marcus Freeman has quickly made big changes around South Bend, upping the recruiting game and helping to acquire talent through the transfer portal also. This might be the deepest and most talented roster we have seen in some time, as well as the most complete coaching staff.

Coming off of the 23-13 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies last weekend, that optimism has been growing even more. Things just feel different around Notre Dame right now. There is a new energy, which has revitalized a fan base that has been starved for a return to prominence for a long time.

We have also seen Coach Freeman get his team up for big games a lot better than the previous regime, now holding an 8-4 overall record against top 25 opponents. That was easily the most frustrating part of the Brian Kelly Era. You knew Notre Dame was going to beat all the teams they should under Coach Kelly, but you never expected them to beat the teams that others told you they shouldn’t. There was a defeatus aura around the program heading into those big games.

Coming off arguably Coach Freeman’s biggest win of his career so far, a 23-13 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies, that optimism continues to rise. For the first time in a long time, there is a belief in the fanbase that the Irish will show up in big spots. During those challenging games, my lone piece of skepticism and complaint about Coach Freeman does come up.

A defensive coach by nature, we have seen Coach Freeman continually preach about being a heavy run team, and wanting to play complimentary football. That sounds great in theory, but my main complaint is that more often than not, the offense compliments the defense but not the other way around.

In big games, it seems like the Notre Dame staff is more willing to play great defense, run the ball and try to play ball control. That has caused some supporters to question the talent that the team has in the passing game. In reality, there is talent, but it just isn’t utilized nearly enough. They become methodical as a result.

There are going to be games where your defense doesn’t play their best game, and in those instances, the offense is going to have to pick them up. Are we convinced that Notre Dame is going to be able to answer the bell when that happens? I personally have no idea. We just haven’t seen enough to know for sure.

For once, can’t the defense compliment the offense? Can we let the offense open up and take some chances? We won’t find any answers to that this weekend, and who knows when we will with the quality of this schedule. Seeing traces of it, however, would be tremendous.

Coach Freeman is an outstanding person, and symbol of the Notre Dame program. His in-game coaching is also beginning to show incremental signs of massive improvement. A slight altering of ideology would be something that could raise the ceiling. No more conservativeness in big games. Let your athletes make you right.