Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 97 J aiden Ausberry sat in the back of the locker room, alone, after Notre Dame lost the national champion- ship game to Ohio State. He wore a look of resolve on his face. Ausberry was one of several Irish on the wrong end of an Ohio State highlight, but only he wound up on the wrong end of the Sports Illustrated cover shot. He had a chance to bring down junior Buck- eyes running back Quinshon Judkins at the line of scrimmage with the game tied in the second quarter, but Judkins stiff- armed him into the turf. Ausberry watched as Judkins fought through another defender and lunged into the end zone, giving Ohio State a 14-7 lead that it would maintain until confetti rained down on Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The sophomore linebacker got beat. That's football. He challenged one of the Buckeyes' many superstars, and he lost. In that locker room, as he processed the end of his first season as a signifi- cant piece of the Notre Dame defense, Ausberry vowed to stay the course. "We came up short, and that happens sometimes, but we're going to come back next year even stronger," Ausberry said. "We're going to just reload." He's right. And he and his teammates will spend the next seven months mak- ing it happen. "I'm ready to get back to work right now," sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse said. "I've never felt a pain like this. I'm even more eager to get rid of it, so I'm going to be in the lab." Notre Dame is in pain, but it's a dif- ferent kind of agony than it felt after losing to Alabama in their last trip to the national title game. On that night in January 2013, the Irish felt the pain of a reality check. They were 12-0 and the No. 1-ranked team, but it became clear shortly after kickoff that they could not compete with the Crimson Tide. Linebacker Manti Te'o would later recall seeing his teammates' eyes grow wide as they watched Alabama run out of the tunnel, at which point he knew the game would not be close. "There was a difference with those Bama boys," Te'o said in August. The national narrative agreed: Notre Dame, under then-head coach Brian Kelly, was considered a flash in the pan. And it was. Kelly's Irish never made it back to the big game, and they lost their two semifinal matchups by a combined score of 61-17. There was always a gap between Notre Dame and the elite of college football. Freeman's Irish are not Kelly's Irish. The latter folded against the superior size and athleticism of Alabama. Notre Dame punted or turned the ball over on six plays or fewer on each of its possessions in that game. It went down 35-0 in the third quarter. It did not belong on the same field as its crimson-and-white counterparts. This year's Irish punched Ohio State in the mouth with an 18-play, 75-yard open- ing drive. Sure, the Buckeyes punched back harder and built a 31-7 lead that ul- timately proved too much to overcome. But even that didn't faze anyone in a blue-and-gold jersey. They stormed back, pulled out all the stops and had a legiti- mate chance to win the game. They never backed down. They made every Irish fan in the stadium proud. They were heartbroken afterward, but they still picked their most distraught teammates up. The most vocal defender of sopho- more cornerback Christian Gray, senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas, entered the transfer portal two days later. He still cared as much as anyone in that room. That's not changing. That's who Notre Dame is now. "It's not a team or a culture that was store-bought," then-defensive coordi- nator Al Golden said. "It was built from the ground up. It's built with bricks, it's built with mortar and it's built to last. It's built for the long haul." The young players in that Notre Dame locker room, many of whom filled cru- cial roles throughout the season, un- derstand that. Asked about the come- back, freshman defensive end Bryce Young said the Irish simply played to their standard. Sophomore safety Adon Shuler said the loss hurt, but he was glad to go through it with his brothers. The ones who played their last game for the Irish — who helped Freeman build that culture — know it, too. "You guys are going to be seeing a lot more of Notre Dame in the future," senior tight end Mitchell Evans said. "Notre Dame isn't done. This is just the beginning." As for Freeman himself, he took a minute in the bowels of Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch Ohio State celebrate on the field. It wasn't like Te'o's teammates watching Alabama with fear in their eyes, though. According to ESPN side- line reporter Molly McGrath, Freeman looked "heartbroken and determined." "I told them I love them, and I'm so proud to be a part of this season with them," Freeman said. "There's a lot of guys that are hurting, but they gave it everything they had. We didn't get the job done tonight. We have to figure out why, and there's reasons for it. "But I thank them for what they did for this school and this football pro- gram. For people who watch college football, I think they sent a strong mes- sage about being selfless." Notre Dame will be back. Freeman will make sure of it. Put it this way: the Irish won't have to wait another 31 years for their next major bowl win. ✦ After the game, Irish senior tight end Mitchell Evans said: "You guys are going to be seeing a lot more of Notre Dame in the future. Notre Dame isn't done. This is just the beginning." PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Notre Dame Will Be Back Staff writer Jack Soble has covered Notre Dame athletics for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2023. Contact him at Jack.Soble@on3.com. OFF THE DOME JACK SOBLE