Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman explains what's different about 2023 rematch with Ohio State
The Notre Dame coach didn't hold back his excitement about facing the Buckeyes again this season.
Marcus Freeman's debut season at Notre Dame was spoiled to a degree by a 1-2 start, aided by a loss to Ohio State. The two programs clash again in 2023 on Sept. 23 and Freeman said his squad is “looking forward” to hosting the rematch. Notre Dame finished the 2022 campaign 9-4 after rattling off a five-game winning streak late in the season. The streak included signature victories over Clemson and South Carolina, with the latter coming in the Gator Bowl.
“I think you can look back to last year in that first game, you're really, your true first game as a head coach, and you go back to your alma mater, and you face a really good football team,” Freeman said on Good Morning Football. “We were up with maybe one minute left in the third quarter and we end up losing 21-10. But I think you play them close enough that you kind of mask some of the issues that you have as a program and as a team. Then the next week we lose to Marshall and that to me is really where you said, 'Okay, we have to rip off all the layers and figure out what's the issues and really try to correct them with a sense of urgency.'
“That's what we're able to do. But you know, as you fast forward this year, we'll play them in Week 5 for us. It's Week 4 in the season, but since we play Week Zero, it’ll be Week 5 for us, so we'll know what our football team is all about. We'll know what our strengths are. Listen, it's a lot tougher to play a game in Notre Dame Stadium. We're looking forward to the opportunity.”