Marcus Freeman endorses Notre Dame football RB Jeremiyah Love as Heisman Trophy candidate

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SOUTH BEND ― All abord the Jeremiyah Love Heisman Trophy hype train.

Consider Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman the conductor of said train after the Irish’s 49-10 blowout win over Navy Saturday, Nov. 8. It’s the seventh win in a row for Notre Dame (7-2), who entered the week No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Love had another impressive performance, rushing for 94 yards on just 13 carries and two touchdowns. It was his second score that stole the show on a cold, wet night in South Bend.

With the Irish at the Navy 48-yard line, Love took a handoff and was met in the backfield. He spun away from a would-be tackler, but then had two other Midshipmen defenders swarming near him, bringing him down.

One problem for Navy: Love never hit the turf. Instead, he rolled onto one of the Midshipmen players and bounced back up. Realizing the play was still live, Love kept running, bursting down the home team sideline for a highlight-reel touchdown run.

Freeman was asked after the game if he felt Love should be in the Heisman Trophy discission. The fourth-year head coach gave a definitive answer.

“In my mind, yes he is, there’s no question about it,” Freeman said. “You talk about one of the best players in the country – if he’s not one of them, then it’s hard to believe how many other players are that special. He’s a special player, and he had a great week of prep.

“Again, he continues to do things that you haven’t seen, but you’re not surprised with Jeremiyah Love.”

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Jeremiyah Love stats in 2025 season

After a couple of underwhelming performances in the Irish’s first two games against Miami and Texas A&M, Love has shown why he warranted preseason Heisman Trophy hype.

Including Navy, Love has accumulated 894 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, including a 94-yard sprint in the victory over Boston College on Nov. 1. He made sure to strike the “Heisman pose” after that one.

Love has also been a threat in the passing game as well with 23 receptions, 227 yards and three touchdowns. He had a 27-yard catch on the Irish’s first possession Saturday that helped setup his short rushing score a few plays later.

Love will get a chance to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing for the season next Saturday, Nov. 15, in a ranked matchup against Pittsburgh (noon ET).

Austin Hough is a sports editor within the Center for Community Journalism at USA Today Company, overseeing high school sports and Notre Dame athletics coverage for five Indiana newspapers. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough. Hough can be emailed at ahough@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football running back Jeremiyah Love Heisman Trophy buzz

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