Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547434
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 7, 2026 29 M arcus Freeman tried to pause on the runway lead- ing to one of the biggest Notre Dame Stadium showdowns in decades on Nov. 7 and make the moment all about Navy. The fifth-year Irish head foot- ball coach might as well have been speaking Martian. At least outside of the Notre Dame locker room, following No. 5 Notre Dame's 35-13 come-from- behind win over the plucky and unranked Midshipmen at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. — Freeman's 50th career victory. "I want them to enjoy this vic- tory," Freeman said of his 7-1 Irish in his postgame back-and-forth with the media, before one of those questions poked at the possibil- ity Notre Dame was looking ahead to a confrontation with No. 1 Miami. That being the alleged connection to the first-half Irish struggles in the 99th meeting between the two programs, in- cluding a 13-7 deficit that wasn't erased until less than a minute remained before halftime. "Look, I can't get into every person's head," Freeman said. "Nobody can ex- cept for that person. All I can just focus on is: Let's talk about why didn't you do what we expected you to do? Or hey, what do we have to do differently as coaches to get a better result in this play? "You don't want to create chaos and panic about why something happened." For the record, the Irish avoided the upset bug infecting college football this season like never before and took care of business in a big way once they found their bearings. Notre Dame outgained Navy (2-6) in the second half 279 yards to 56, out- scored it 21-0 and held the Mids to 0 of 4 on third-down conversions. The Irish also forced a turnover on downs on Navy's only fourth-down attempt after halftime. And Notre Dame held the normally ball-hogging Mids offense to just 16 offensive plays and 9:07 of possession time in the third and fourth quarters combined. That after being on the wrong end of the biggest possession- time deficit in college football this sea- son to date in the first half (23:33-6:27). But is any of it translatable — in style or substance — to what the Irish will face next weekend, when Miami is expected to arrive as the 10th Associated Press No. 1 team to visit Notre Dame Stadium? Freeman will point to quarterback CJ Carr's strong second-half passing (12 of 15 for 130 yards), running back Nolan James Jr.'s second trip over the 100-yard rushing mark and a breakout game from sophomore receiver Jerome Bettis Jr. Bettis led the Irish with career highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (78), along with his first career touch- down (31 yards) during a stretch when the outcome was still up for grabs. There was freshman tight end Ian Premer — perhaps a late-rising star — playing a career-high 33 snaps and catching 1 pass for 8 yards. There was an Irish defense that got bullied in the first half, finding answers in the locker room. "I kept saying, 'Stop panicking,'" Freeman said of his halftime words and tone to defensive coordinator Chris Ash and the Irish defenders. "Don't come up with some magical calls that our guys don't know how to execute. It's not a call. What are they doing? How do we make sure we get adjusted? "Where are the issues where our guys know what they should do and didn't execute versus where are the issues that we have to make sure we help them know how to get lined up and how we want to fit?" Freeman used the word "panic" again when talking about his mes- saging to the Irish offense. And used it again and again when try- ing to project what the Irish didn't do and won't do. "I think I used that word prob- ably just to make sure our guys didn't lose the conviction that they've got in what we're doing, what they're doing," Freeman said. "That's what outside noise and voices try to get you to do is panic." Freeman's broader point is that Notre Dame's bye week ahead of Navy week was about recalibration and not rein- vention. And that the 28-24 loss to BYU Oct. 17 should galvanize the Irish, not shake their foundation, per the coach. And yet he knows outside Shields Family Hall, that's not a reality that many people share about a Notre Dame team that remained undefeated all time on Halloween (17-0) and enters Novem- ber having won 11 consecutive games played in that month. Nov. 7 is judgment day. Every twisted interpretation of the phrase "Leave No Doubt," every overex- trapolation of every seemingly alarming statistic or sequence in even the most lopsided of wins, every nuance — real- ized or imagined — in every press-con- ference word salad belongs to Miami. Every bit of vitriol festering and me- tastasizing since Dec. 7, when Notre Dame was left out of the 2025 College Football Playoff and Miami got in the back door, belongs to the Hurricanes. All the echoes awakened by No. 4 Notre Dame's epic upset of No. 1 Miami in 1988 are back in play. Destiny's calling. Will the Fighting Irish answer? ✦ Head coach Marcus Freeman earned his 50th career victory in Notre Dame's 35-13 win over Navy, setting the stage for a pivotal show- down with No. 1 Miami Nov. 7. PHOTO BY NICK GRACE Judgment Day Eric Hansen covers Notre Dame athletics for On3, with a focus on Irish football. He can be reached on X @ EHansenND THE DEEP READ ERIC HANSEN