Marcus Freeman has no margin for error after Notre Dame’s stunning loss

It can change fast in this sport. 

One week, you own the best victory of the weekend, the next, you have the worst defeat, creating questions about your long-term job status. 

It’s been quite the season in two weeks for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame. From the high of winning at Texas A&M – the Irish’s first season-opening win over a top-25 team since 2005 – to losing as a 28.5-point favorite over MAC foe Northern Illinois. This was the story of Saturday, Notre Dame’s stunning loss in South Bend, Ind., leading to a social media storm of criticism aimed at Freeman.

While other top-ranked schools flirted with disaster – No. 7 Oregon and No. 8 Penn State were on upset watch for most of their narrow victories over Boise State and Bowling Green, respectively – Notre Dame couldn’t survive. 

Really, the No. 5 team in the country got what it deserved. It was outplayed, out-gained 388-286, beaten up at the line of scrimmage and minus two in turnover margin. Northern Illinois became the first MAC school to beat a top-five opponent since 1978, snapping an 0-50 drought. 

The Irish were always taking a risk by promoting Freeman, their defensive coordinator at the time, when Brian Kelly left for LSU. He had never been a head coach before at any level, and now he was being given the reins to one of the most prestigious programs in the country. 

The body of work has been uneven. Eight wins over ranked opponents, but four losses to unranked ones, three coming at home. A 20-9 record. At Notre Dame, that isn’t good enough. Performances like Saturday’s certainly aren’t. 

“We’ve been here before,” Freeman said, which is not something fans want to hear from their coach after losing as a four-touchdown favorite. There have been 28 losses by a home team favored by at least 16 points since 2022 and Notre Dame had three of them, Fox Sports’ Chris Fallica reported. 

The win at Texas A&M was supposed to set up Notre Dame for a run at the expanded, 12-team playoff. Instead, all it did was set the Irish up for failure, with one of the worst losses in program history. Now, with No. 13 USC the lone high-profile team left on the schedule, Notre Dame really can’t afford more than one more loss, if that. 

The playoff, though, might be a pipe dream, based on what we saw against Northern Illinois. Notre Dame couldn’t stop the run, new quarterback Riley Leonard threw a pair of interceptions and was unproductive and Freeman’s team looked extremely mediocre in its home debut. 

The setback raises questions about Freeman, and adds scrutiny to the rest of this season. A few more losses could put him on the hot seat. It will be interesting how he handles the quarterback position. Leonard, a Duke transfer who put up big numbers two years ago, has yet to throw a touchdown pass in two games and has not looked the part. 

Notre Dame, it should be noted, has lost back-to-back games just once since Freeman took over – in his first two games as head coach. The Irish have responded to poor performances before. They really need to now, or this season will quickly spiral out of control, raising even more questions about Freeman’s long-term viability if he can’t avoid these letdown losses that have highlighted his tenure. 

With a new coach and new quarterback, Syracuse has quickly become one of the more interesting teams early in this college football season. It is 2-0, fueled by Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, who has thrown for 735 yards and eight touchdowns in wins over Ohio and Georgia Tech. New head coach Fran Brown, an elite recruiter who worked at Georgia, Rutgers, Baylor and Temple, has given this program an edge so far. 

He responded to comments from Georgia Tech coach Brent Key insinuating Syracuse wasn’t physical by calling the win “very personal.” With a soft few weeks ahead, the Orange could be 5-0 when it visits N.C. State on Oct. 12. That has happened just once, in 2022, since 1987. 

Keep an eye on Tennessee. The SEC has four teams – Georgia, Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss – ranked in the top six, and the Volunteers may be better than advertised. They looked awesome in waxing N.C. State, 51-10, on the road. What was so impressive is what happened in the trenches, Tennessee rushing for 249 yards and allowing just 39. Hyped freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has looked the part so far as well, giving the Volunteers balance. A trip to Oklahoma in two weeks should be a fascinating barometer.