Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540307
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 18, 2025 7 UNDER THE DOME BY JACK SOBLE O n fourth-and-8 from the Boise State 28-yard line, Notre Dame's field goal unit didn't move. It was an obvious kicking situation — if a team has confidence in its kicker. The Irish, with redshirt senior Noah Burnette out with a right hip injury, do not. Head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed as much when he decided to attempt a fourth-down con- version, which was unsuccessful. "Yes, [Burnette's absence] factors into the fourth-down decisions," Freeman said after the game. Earlier in Notre Dame's 28-7 win over Boise State, true freshman kicker Erik Schmidt had an extra point blocked. The protection was fine; he just didn't kick it high enough. Schmidt was benched for ju- nior walk-on Marcello Diomede the rest of the way, but Freeman clearly doesn't trust either player to make a 46-yard field goal. That's a problem, and Freeman knows it. "I had a long conversation with [spe- cial teams coordinator Marty] Biagi on Sunday," Freeman said. Translation: The fourth-year head coach is not happy with Notre Dame's ability to both keep Burnette healthy and adequately prepare a replacement. Plan A would be the former, and Free- man showed some frustration on that front in his Oct. 6 press conference. Burnette missed Week 4 versus Purdue with a right hip injury, too, but Freeman said the ailment that forced him out of Week 6 against Boise State — and had him questionable for Week 7 versus North Car- olina State — was different. He described it as a muscle strain, and he said the Irish have to prevent that from happening. "Nobody's ever going to be OK with soft-tissue issues saying we're unlucky," Freeman said. "No, it's cause and effect. We've got to find the right formula. "He's in a really good spot right now. But he was in a really good spot a couple weeks ago, and then he got injured again." Holding Burnette out of practice out of an abundance of caution is not an option. Like any player, Freeman ex- plained, the North Carolina transfer needs reps before he kicks in a game. It's up to the Irish — from the coaches to the medical and nutrition staffs to Bur- nette himself — to determine why he can't stay healthy and what they can do to fix it. "Is it practice?" Freeman said. "Is it treatment? Is it some type of fueling thing with his muscles? We have to get this thing figured out." If Burnette can't go, Freeman said Notre Dame has to decide whether to roll with Schmidt or Diomede sooner than it has in recent weeks. The Irish had been putting those two in constant competition, but this time Freeman wants Biagi to pick a kicker early in the week and stick with him. Schmidt missed his lone field goal at- tempt through Week 6 from 31 yards out, and the Irish have been reluctant to use Diomede. "The competition, it's not helping us the way that I would like it to," Freeman said. "So, we need to now make a decision and just say, 'Hey, you're gonna be the guy if Noah can't go, and let's get ready.'" Freeman is clearly concerned, but it is possible that this story has a happy ending. In 2024, Mitch Jeter suffered a groin injury in October. He missed nearly a month, and when he came back, the kicker who made 92 percent of his field goals with South Carolina went 1 of 5 in four November games. Irish fans were un- derstandably concerned that Jeter's in- jury and subsequent struggles would cost them their season, but they never did. Instead, Jeter went 5 of 5 in the Sugar and Orange Bowls, all between 40 and 49 yards out, including a 41-yard game- winner to send Notre Dame to the na- tional championship game. But here the Irish are again, faced with the same danger. If they can't figure their kicking situation out by the time Southern Cal visits South Bend Oct. 18, crunch time could get very difficult if that game is close. Freeman knows as well as anyone that Notre Dame can't kick the can down the road. ✦ UNDER THE DOME KICKING THE CAN Kicking woes haven't cost the Irish a game yet, but Marcus Freeman is concerned True freshman kicker Erik Schmidt (above) has been pressed into duty because redshirt senior Noah Burnette has been sidelined for two games by a right hip injury. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER