Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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6 NOV. 23, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE I n the moments before sophomore safety Luke Talich's pick six Nov. 9, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man was fuming. Sure, the Irish led 45-3 with less than two minutes to go in the game. But for the first time since the first quar- ter, Florida State was driving. Redshirt freshman Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn was finally in a rhythm, complet- ing 4 passes during that possession after going 1 of 10 with an interception in the 58-minute massacre that preceded it. "They were moving the ball on us a little bit, and I'm trying not to lose my mind," Freeman said. A few seconds later, Talich jumped an out- b rea k i n g ro u te a n d took it 79 yards for a touchdown. When the former walk-on from Cody, Wyo., crossed the goal line inches ahead of a flailing Glenn, Notre Dame went up 52-3. The Irish set the mark for the most points scored on Florida State this season and secured their third win of 40 points or more this year. "He came out of nowhere," Freeman said. "That was a huge play." Throughout the season, Freeman has stressed the importance of playing well when the game is in hand. On more than one occasion, he included some form of "we won the second half" in his opening remarks after a blowout win that was well over by the break or, at the latest, early in the third quarter. That began in Week 3 at Purdue, when Notre Dame entered halftime with a 42-0 lead. The third-year head coach brought his team together in the Ross- Ade Stadium locker room and reminded them what happened the week prior: a loss to Northern Illinois at home. That happened, he told them — as he told the media many times before and since — because the Irish failed to handle success after pulling off a monumental Week 1 road win at Texas A&M. Notre Dame won the second half 24-7 that day. It won the second half 28-0 a few weeks later against Stanford, 20-7 against Navy and, finally, 31-0 against Florida State. That, Freeman explained, tells him something big. "I think it's a sign of handling suc- cess," Freeman said. When the Irish kept their foot on the gas and smothered the Seminoles, it showed him — again — that they learned from NIU. He's not running up the score to impress the College Football Playoff Selection Committee or disrespect- ing, as multiple broadcasters have sug- gested. He's trying to win every play. "How can you show during the game you're ready to handle success?" Free- man said. "You can be up at halftime and go out there with the same mindset that you did to start the game." When Freeman pulls his starters and inserts his backups — or, in the FSU game, his third- and fourth-stringers — he expects the same. He agonizes over each rep from freshman defensive tackle Sean Sevillano Jr. as much as he does for graduate students Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills. Freeman holds Notre Dame's red- shirting freshmen to the same standard as he holds its starters, both in real time and when he evaluates the tape. "We can't make excuses for guys who are backups or guys who don't practice as much with the older guys for their play," Freeman said. "I hope maybe not in the moment because it's never fun to get challenged and maybe criticized at times, but I hope they look back and appreciate that they are held to the same standard as the starters." Sevillano made his college debut ver- sus FSU. So did cornerback Tae Johnson, wide receiver Logan Saldate and line- backer Bodie Kahoun. Those reps under the lights will serve them well when they begin their sophomore year spring ball, which is a critical time for development. Notre Dame also used garbage time to play freshmen like cornerback Kar- son Hobbs and offensive tackle Guerby Lambert, who are one injury away from potentially starting a season-defining game at USC or an elimination game in the postseason. "To look at some of the guys that we have played against Florida State, that's big," Freeman said. "That's probably something you never thought as you looked to the future where it really hap- pened. It's awesome. Hopefully they value that and can continue to use that as we move forward." And yes, the Irish threw the ball, too. Why wouldn't they? If senior quarter- back Riley Leonard goes down, junior backup Steve Angeli could be the dif- ference between winning and losing in the College Football Playoff. Angeli connected on 3 of 3 passes with a touch- down against Florida State, and he has 23 pass attempts this season. Those reps are too valuable, for sev- eral reasons, to worry about how the other team might feel. ✦ UNDER THE DOME PILING IT ON Notre Dame playing for 60 minutes is about more than just 'style points' Getting in-game reps for backups such as junior quarterback Steve Angeli in blowout wins like the one versus Florida State Nov. 9 could prove invaluable if those players are needed later at critical moments in the season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER