Throw away the negativity for a second, and understand that this Notre Dame football program was in a really bad place this past week. It sent Irish fans into a dark place, questioning the future of the program under head coach Marcus Freeman . As a collective, we needed to see a plan, incremental improvement, and some urgency.
In a vacuum, we saw that on Saturday. Notre Dame was locked in from the start of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers , ending with a 66-7 blowout victory on the road. While it was a dominant performance, it won’t erase what happened last week against Northern Illinois.
The question every Notre Dame fan will, and should ask: Did we see a legitimate answer this weekend or was Purdue just a really bad football team?
Let’s start with the obvious, not everything is going to get fixed in one week. The passing offense led by quarterback Riley Leonard is still an issue. It was better on Saturday as a whole, but the lack of explosive plays and consistency still needs to come. It starts with Leonard, who needs to continue building confidence. Then you need the wide receivers and play calling to also become more consistent. The makings of a potent attack are there but maturation still needs to happen.
What we saw on Saturday, even with the improvements still needed, was a huge step. There were big positives, which went well beyond the players on the field. A program is built from the top down, and that was the growth we saw most on Saturday. Coach Freeman had this team locked in and ready to play.
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Anytime you get upset on your home field against an inferior opponent in ugly fashion, you have a chance to fracture your confidence. That is especially true with a Notre Dame team who seemed like a favorite for a berth in the new 12-team playoff format. There was a ton of early buzz around the team after defeating Texas A&M the first game of the season.
There were two ways that this past Saturday was going to go. One, Notre Dame was going to come out pissed off and completely dominate the Boilermakers. Two, it was going to be a slop fest ending in a three-point decision on either side. Obviously the former came to fruition.
That is a testament to Coach Freeman and this Notre Dame staff. The players had every reason to tuck their tails between their legs, and feel sorry for themselves. From the very beginning of this football game, Notre Dame came out fast, violent and looked like it was personal.
That’s the type of aggressiveness and energy that Notre Dame fans wanted to see, effort. For at least one Saturday, the collective can be proud of their team and relish in victory, a decisive one.
Just because Saturday happened, however, doesn’t mean that anything has changed. We have seen the team come out against adversity and play well before under Coach Freeman. From here, it’s about stacking days. Notre Dame still very well has a path to a deep playoff run potentially in front of them, but they won’t get there if the mindset we saw on Saturday isn’t carried over.
Make this personal. Keep that emotion close to your heart, and remember what it felt like after that game against Northern Illinois. If that demeanor is carried over, even if there is some sloppy play involved, that will be progress.
The majority of Notre Dame fans want to believe in Coach Freeman, but that switch is one that everyone wants to see kept on. Saturday can’t end up being an outlier in the end, but a standard. This could be a stepping stone for an identity being developed, but will need to be carried over throughout the rest of the season for belief to come back for the Irish faithful.
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