Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 7 UNDER THE DOME BY TYLER JAMES I t's hard to press play on a season of television when you already know the end result — let alone one that ends in pain for your favorite college football team. But Season 2 of "Here Come The Irish," the Notre Dame football docuse- ries available on Peacock, still delivers a product worth watching for the inside look at the program and the stories it shares about the people in and around it. Diehard Notre Dame football fans may already know many of the stories shared about Notre Dame's players and their family members in Season 2. Blue & Gold Illustrated previously docu- mented many of them as well. But the level of access and visual storytelling in the docuseries provides a new lens for those stories. Beyond the personal stories, two speeches delivered by Notre Dame coaches showed why Season 2 of "Here Come The Irish" is worth your time. Notre Dame offensive coordina- tor Mike Denbrock delivered a stirring speech in a team meeting as the Irish prepared to host Southern Cal in Octo- ber. By the time the episode aired, the upcoming interruption of the Notre Dame-Southern Cal series had al- ready been reported. But Denbrock's speech, which was shown in Episode 4, explained why the game needs to be played on an annual basis. "Southern Cal. Here they come," Denbrock said. "It's different, and you know it's different. The crowd's gonna have a little more juice to it. This is a long, storied history. And if you're a young guy sitting in the back, the guys that are in the front here that have made a name for themselves in this program and the people that have played before you, some of that has come from play- ing in this game and doing well in this game. "And the legends for you guys in the front of Notre Dame that people don't forget them ever. They don't forget who they are. They don't forget their names. They don't forget the plays they made. A lot of it has to do with what happens in this game. "What a privilege. What a privilege to be challenged by a life you created on purpose. This is what you asked for. And now you got it. What you gonna do with it? Take it for granted? Or are you going to dig in? Are we going to the next level? Are we continuing to climb? Are we continuing to improve? "What we settled for last week ain't good enough anymore. Because we've already passed that level. It's time to raise the bar." Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man's best speech was saved for Epi- sode 6 in the season finale. That's when Freeman showed one of the reasons he's such a successful coach. He shared his shock and pain with the team when Notre Dame learned it wouldn't be in the 2025 College Football Playoff. Then he guided his players on how to handle it. "It is what it is, but what can we do?" Freeman said to the team. "I just keep reminding myself there's got to be a rea- son for this. You know, I mean most of the time I get in front of you — we have disappointments all the time. Right? We have disappointments all the time in life. "But usually I can get in front of you and say there's cause and effect for a disappointment. Right? Usually I can get in front of you and say, 'Hey, if we would have done this …' Guys, I don't have that answer for this one. Not yet. I don't have that answer for this one, be- cause it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. "I feel awful for you all, because I'm the person supposed to stand in front of you and say, 'I got the answer.' And I don't have the answer right now." Freeman paused. Then he turned the moment into motivation. "Keep it. Keep the pain, man. Keep it," Freeman said. "There's a reason why something. We're in the middle of it right now. "Be damn proud of what you guys have done this year. Don't let them take the joy from what you guys accom- plished this season. Don't give them that power. Don't give them that power to take the joy and the accomplishments of what you guys did. "From how we started to where we finished, don't let that committee take that joy, man. You hear me? "Don't give them that power. They already took the playoffs from us. They ain't taking that. They ain't taking that. They don't have that power. "Life is full of blows, man. Bam. Life is full of blows. Forty years old or you're 18 or you're 22. It's full of blows. Bam. "They hit us with a blow. They ain't taking our joy." ✦ UNDER THE DOME A WORTHY WATCH Find time for 'Here Come The Irish' docuseries on Peacock N o t r e D a m e o f f e n s i v e c o o r d i n a t o r M i k e Denbrock's team speech during Southern Cal week was captured on the "Here Come The Irish" docuseries. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER