The question was a fair one, given how dominant Notre Dame (3-0) looked in the three quarters following Saturday’s rain delay as it routed North Carolina State 45-24. Whether it was asked or not, the thought was going to cross plenty of minds after the now-No. 9 Irish had no trouble scoring against what should be a strong Wolfpack defense.
But when Marcuus Freeman was asked how much better of an idea he has of how good Notre Dame might be, the expectation should have been he would offer only coach-speak, probably dodge the question to some extent.
Instead, he acknowledged what the Irish had just proven, keeping his answer open-ended also providing some authenticity.
“I don’t know what the ceiling is for this team, I think it’s high,” Freeman said Saturday night. “... It’s to be determined how high that ceiling is.
“Today you saw them face some adversity and be able to respond. That’s part of a championship team.”
Calling the Irish offense’s first quarter “adversity” is perhaps a bit dramatic. The hour and 45 minute rain delay was a nuisance that served to emphasize Notre Dame’s offensive struggles through three drives in the first quarter, netting a total of 39 yards.
But relatively speaking, that counts as adversity for the Irish offense this month. Sam Hartman’s first 12 drives in a plain gold helmet had yielded 11 touchdowns and a missed field goal. Putting up only three points in the first quarter was Iowa-esque ineptitude by comparison.
Not that North Carolina State had taken advantage of that slow Notre Dame start. The Wolfpack had also netted 39 yards on its first three drives. How concerning can a 3-0 lead possibly be?
Nonetheless, the Irish sat through the thunderstorms with only offensive struggles to ponder even if Freeman was advising them not to.
“Our message always, just stay in the moment,” he said. “Do not worry about outcomes, do not worry about last week, do not worry about what happened in the first quarter, just stay in the moment.”
Setting aside the hypocrisy of Freeman indulging in the thought of Notre Dame’s ceiling, very much not an “in the moment” additive, Notre Dame’s offensive struggles were always likely a short-term reality. Hartman has proven himself too calm to let a few sacks actually fluster him, even if one led to a fumble.
Obviously, that became the eventuality. The Irish scored touchdowns on three straight drives to end the game, moments set up by three Wolfpack turnovers. Notre Dame scored three times on explosive plays, two of them being long passes to sophomore tight end Holden Staes. North Carolina State has a formidable defense, the season will bear that out, and the Irish did not care.
Think that was the first "complementary football" mention of the season from Marcus Freeman.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) September 11, 2023
The myriad differences of having a potent offense ...
Freeman chalked up some of that resolve to last year’s struggles, losing to Marshall in the home opener, falling to a miserable Stanford team, barely getting by an offensively-inept Cal. That may seem too easy a bow to put on 2022’s downs, but a combined 15 starters Saturday were also starting in those games, not to mention Hartman’s five years of experience in close games at Wake Forest.
“When you have a team that’s been through some of that adversity and you have guys coming in like Sam, to stay in the moment, to not be so focused on what happened in the past, right now is all that matters,” Freeman said, perhaps not clearly finishing the thought but his point being he does not need to lean on his veterans to stay focused, possibly also the reason he allowed himself that ceiling conjecture.
A year ago, Notre Dame’s offense was best described as inconsistent and more accurately recognized as disjointed. It lacked calm behind center and playmakers on the perimeter. After just one week, that latter fact made it clear the Irish ceiling was well short of the College Football Playoff, and the frenetic quarterback play lowered the Irish floor to upset depths.
Saturday proved Notre Dame’s offensive calm now extends past blowouts of Navy and Tennessee State. Hartman is the epitome of “steady,” to pull an adjective from Freeman, and Staes may have flashed enough as a downfield threat to ponder if the Irish ceiling is as a Playoff contender.
Freeman did not say that.
“It’s to be determined how high that ceiling is.”
Fair enough, but that open-ended truth is still significant progress from Freeman’s debut season and reason enough to begin to wonder about the pair of primetime games on NBC in the next month.
Georgia +235
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) September 11, 2023
Michigan +600
Florida State +600
Texas +850
Ohio State +900
USC +1100
Penn State +1500
Alabama +2000
LSU +2500
Oregon +2500
Washington +3000
ND +3000
Clemson +4000
