Could this be Notre Dame's Year?

     Brian Kelly sucks. He's kind of an jerk, always pushes the blame somewhere else, a little bit of a weirdo, and he is definitely a jerk. In years past, anytime Notre Dame was in the spotlight, you could very easily chalk the game up for a loss, or a very close/flukey win. Kelly left for LSU and is doing much of the same stuff, complete disaster that has culminated with his insane rant of being 'angry at his football team'. 

    Marcus Freeman on the other hand, head coach of Notre Dame, has been the guy since stepping foot on campus when he was hired by Brian Kelly to be the defensive coordinator. You can tell his players love him and play hard for him. His introduction to the team as the new head coach was an all-time moment. 

    

    Much to Freeman's credit, it seemed like he was going to follow in his predecessor's footsteps and lose the big game in a big spot. Tough loses to Ohio State in back to back years, once to begin the year in 2022 and nearly at the halfway point when the team was undefeated in 2023. The first 2 yers of Freeman's tenure in South Bend were up and down in weird spots. They would beat teams they should've beaten and lose to teams they probably should've lost to but also lose to teams they should've beaten. Fans of the Irish watching the team probably couldn't help but think that the Brian Kelly era never really ended, it just continued with a new guy. Losing games they should've or could've won. 

    2024 could be the beginning of change for the Irish. Week one at Kyle Field facing off against another top-25 team in Texas A&M. Home of the "12th man". The game was on before it even started, Freeman was rallying his team, hyping up his fans, and chirping opposing fans all in one motion. 

    It wasn't a dominate performance by any means but at the end of the day, wins are wins. Especially in a helluva place to play on the road in week 1. Notre Dame just beat their toughest opponent on the year. Louisville at the end of September is at home (advantage Irish), Florida State is officially a dumpster fire of epic proportions after losing to Boston College, and on the road to USC to finish out the year which could go either way. 

    Being Independent as Notre Dame are has its benefits but it also has its negatives. Based on the new College Football Playoff configuration, the highest seed that the Irish could get would be a 5 seed, but that makes a lot of assumptions. Notre Dame probably went undefeated, or had only one loss, and proved themselves to be a top 5 team in the committees eyes. Being a 5 seed puts them in a perfect position to make it to at least a playoff semifinal appearance. All signs are currently pointing to Marcus Freeman and the Irish dominating the year and making it to that 5 seed. 

    2024 could very well become a year that changes everything for Notre Dame and shrugs off the notion that they can't win the big one anymore, their last championship coming in '88. The brand that is Notre Dame football will probably never be reached by another program, but to truly build the program back to a national powerhouse, the Irish need to start winning. Is Marcus Freeman the guy to take the program back to the promised land?