Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526921
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 28, 2024 13 UNDER THE DOME "Reducing Purdue to rubble doesn't make up for losing to Northern Illinois, nor will it change much about Notre Dame's cluttered path to the CFP from here. But with eight games in succession in which Notre Dame should be favored before closing the season at USC, this was at least a hint the Irish might be able to build something from here. "Of course, that demands handling success, which has been a major Irish problem under Free- man." — Pete Sampson of The Athletic "I wouldn't say it's time to fall out of love with your coach. This game is frustrating and things happen, but I don't look at what Freeman has done at Notre Dame thus far and see failure. If we could go back in time seven days (which is a big ask), you'd probably think you have one of the best young coaches in college football. Sentiment changes quickly. Reality doesn't. That said, this has to stop. Notre Dame can't lose to NIU or Stanford or Marshall or any other opponent like that. Free- man knows as well as anyone how quickly love turns into hate. "But as of now, it's still rational to have confi- dence in the direction of Notre Dame. Growth hurts sometimes. I'd still love to see an uptick in talent (at the wide receiver position, specifically), but Freeman put together a really good team this year. Again, the main job of a college football coach is doing that. He did it. "It's a long season. Things will still get weird. Don't give up yet. "But if it happens again next year? That's a whole different discussion." — On3's Ari Wasserman on Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman "Viliamu-Asa turned in one of the better true freshman performances along the defensive side of the ball in Week 3. The inside linebacker was credited with 3 assists, 1 sack and 1 interception in Notre Dame's route of Purdue. Viliamu-Asa's interception came in the fourth quarter off of a tipped pass. The On3 Preseason True Freshman All-American has already flashed on multiple occa- sions for the Irish this season, showing the instincts and propensity for being around the football that made him a four-star prospect." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power on including Notre Dame's Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa among his top eight true freshman in Week 3 "They are insanely physically gifted. Not even close to our first two opponents. And our first two opponents were a Big Ten team [Northwestern] and a Big 12 team [Cincinnati] and really, really gifted. We didn't play MAC teams. This team — they're nothing like those teams. Nothing. They're insanely talented. They've done a great job recruit- ing. They play really hard. They know what they're doing. … By the end of the first half, I felt bad for the Purdue quarterback." — Miami (Ohio) head coach Chuck Martin on Notre Dame PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "Morrison has extremely sound technique in the way he covers opposing receivers. He's really good in press coverage and gets his hands on the ball before it arrives to the receiver. The ball skills are impressive. Morrison had 9 interceptions and 17 pass breakups over his first two seasons." — ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper Jr. on ranking Notre Dame junior cornerback BENJAMIN MORRISON No. 16 on his early big board for the top 25 players in the 2025 NFL Draft Irish On Social Media