Notre Dame shocker continues troubling trend under HC Marcus Freeman

Marcus Freeman choked again.

In what's becoming a hallmark of Notre Dame under Freeman's watch, the Irish blew a game they had no business losing on Saturday against Northern Illinois (2-0).

No. 5 Notre Dame (1-1) lost 16-14 as NIU kicked the winning field goal with 31 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame's 62-yard attempt at the final buzzer was blocked, giving Freeman another embarrassing home loss to add to his resume.

As The Athletic's Chris Vannini noted afterward, the Irish also lost in 2022 at home to Marshall and Stanford, the latter of which finished that season 3-9.

The Action Network's Brett McMurphy added that the Irish were 16-point favorites against the Cardinal and 20-point favorites against the Thundering Herd, making Saturday's loss to the Huskies the biggest upset of the Freeman era.

Notre Dame was favored by 28 points entering the game against NIU.

One loss as a two-possession favorite for a head coach is bad enough, but three is inexcusable.

Playing down to its competition has become ingrained in Notre Dame's identity with Freeman. It isn't a virus; it's part of the program's code.

Notre Dame had a golden path to the playoff, but that's gone up in smoke. Even in a 12-team playoff, a loss to a Mid-American Conference team could be disqualifying.

However, the Irish have bigger problems than their playoff hopes. Notre Dame has a head coach who routinely comes up short in games that shouldn't be major hurdles.

Freeman should have moved beyond these struggles. Good coaches do. After all, Nick Saban lost to UL-Monroe in his first season as Alabama head coach, only to go on to win six national titles with the Tide.

But Freeman hasn't improved from his first season as head coach. Instead, he's built Notre Dame into a team where there's no such thing as an easy win.