Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 5 TRAINING COMPLETED! After the NIU game, I wrote in and stated that the University of Notre Dame was not a place for on-the-job training for a first-time head football coach. I stated that in his first three years, Coach Freeman lost five games to in- ferior opponents and that if he didn't go deep into the playoffs, he should be fired. Coach Freeman used that loss to mo- tivate the team and made it all the way to the championship game. He is an ex- cellent motivator and recruiter, and I hope that he remains at Notre Dame for many years to come. Congratulations on an amazing sea- son. Training completed! John Peloso FAN FORUM BE HEARD! Send your letters to: sdowney@comanpub.com or mail to: Blue & Gold Illustrated, P. O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702 Notre Dame's run to the national championship game was an enjoyable one for all Fighting Irish fans. Despite the loss to Ohio State, they were feeling very positive about the direction of the program. Here is an excerpt from a thread on our message board at BlueandGold.com after the game. dcwflyca: Tough night. It is so hard to get so close and not get over the finish line. However, I feel the need to speak up and point out a few things. First and foremost, this team overachieved. I have never seen an injury report like this group of young men endured. We also had limitations (to be visited later). We weren't perfect. But man, we fought. We beat IU, Georgia (SEC champs), and PSU on an improbable run to a championship game. Wow. Secondly, what an effort. These guys have zero quit. Zero. I couldn't be more proud of these young people. I don't know if there was a fume left in this gas tank. You can't ask for more than that. Thirdly, how cool is it to feel we are just getting started? I hope I am not alone here — I truly feel this is the beginning of something great at ND. We have a leader of men who is not only creating a path to- wards football greatness, but also for success in every endeavor for our players. We will be back — and we will keep creating people who will impact society in so many different, positive ways. Finally, I love this board. What a ride. I loved this year — both the highs and the lows. It reminded me of how special this sport is. It reminded me how special our university is. Thank you all. It is funny, I watched my 10-year-old son cry sad tears tonight. I comforted him with my happy ones. We are pointing north. Go Irish! bus7: Proud of this team. They didn't win the championship, but they're still champions. What a ride. Sok454: What's funny is when Kelly would coach I was constantly screaming at the TV. Maybe it was our players being in spots to lose … where now coaches put them in spots to win. JoJoIndy: I had an amazing time watching these guys! Leonard did an amazing job praising Jesus Christ after every game which was great to watch. Freeman complete class act. Lots more to come. It's just a game. Health and happiness to all is what counts! God bless you all. Fun season! On to the next! DillonDomer2010: Hell of a season. Just an absolute joy watching this team every weekend (minus NIU) up to the championship. Obviously hoped for the happiest of endings tonight, but wasn't expect- ing it. I pointed it out a couple years ago in an effort to temper some folks' expectations for Freeman instantly getting ND to the Promised Land … it took 5 straight years of Kirby Smart stockpiling top 5 classes before he finally summited the proverbial mountain (lost in year 2 in the championship). Ryan Day took 6 seasons (lost in year 3 in the semis to UGA on missed last second kick). Jim Harbaugh took 9 and lost in the semis twice. Dabo took 7 and lost in the championship the year prior. Excluding Saban and Meyer, who won NCs at previous gigs before taking over Bama and OSU, respectively, every new head coach took much longer to get there aside from Ed Orgeron, who fell into the greatest team ever assembled at LSU. In this 12-team format, certainly nothing is guaranteed next season, if not that much more challenging to get back to the championship. Sure wish we got that 1988 monkey off our back tonight. But, impos- sible to be anything but incredibly bullish on the direction of this program moving forward. Go Irish. Edd1066: Heartbreaking tonight but a great year. Maverick 1: Agree … Keep recruiting, stockpiling and developing talent. The future is bright. fedman: How any ND fan cannot be proud of this team and the direction it is going is beyond me. A 14-2 record, surely a final top-5 ranking, and wins in both the Sugar and Orange Bowls. Sounds like a pretty damn good season to me. tky21: Great season. Can't wait to start discussing 2025 because I think we're going to be even better. Youarethe298: I hear you bro. I am 68 so at least I got a chance to see 1966, 1973,1977, 1988 national championship teams. I do think Notre Dame now has the coach to win a national championship. The key is to keep recruiting at a high level. Need to bring in a couple of Will Fullers every year. Someone who if your offense is struggling can make a play and get you out of trouble. Notre Dame just doesn't have that. You can win with Greathouse and Faison but you need that unstoppable game wrecker to go with them. Kcndmis97: What a ride this team took us on, loved it!! This team overachieved with all the injuries and obvious limitations but man did they play hard, played physical and never gave up. We lost to a better team tonight but we didn't lose because of effort. I'll have more about where I think this team needs to get better in terms of recruiting and coaching but now is not the time. We need to celebrate this season! FROM THE WEB .com .com JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT BLUEANDGOLD.COM! Sign up for just $1 for the first 7 days! Head coach Marcus Freeman used the early loss to NIU to motivate the team and propel the run to the national championship game. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER