Takeaways from Marcus Freeman wrapping up MSU, previewing Purdue

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Notre Dame football’s head coach Marcus Freeman met with the media on Monday afternoon, wrapping up the win over Michigan State and previewing another Big Ten opponent, Purdue.

The Irish didn’t see any change to its poll rankings, but did see some movement along the expert analysts with their College Football Playoff predictions after Week 3. Notre Dame is sitting firmly in the field, if it were to start today, at 3-0, is looking to complete September without a loss.

Freeman spoke on a number of different topics, from what he saw against the Spartans, to the challenges of facing the Boilermakers a second consecutive season. Find out below my biggest takeaways from Notre Dame’s head coach meeting with the media.

Good tough win, but areas to improve for Notre Dame

Freeman noted it was a tough win for the Irish, but wasn’t happy about the way that the team could have finished the game earlier than it did. Sure, a 17-point win is a good result against a Big Ten team, but it was a learning experience for this team. Hard to disagree with Freeman’s comments, this game could have been a much easier one for Notre Dame, but they missed more than a few opportunities to do so.

Purdue is an ascending team, but Notre Dame will be ready

The first true road test happens to be a rivalry game against yet another Big Ten opponent. This will be the third team this fall that the Irish have faced through four games, giving them an idea of what it would be like to be part of the conference. The probability of Notre Dame joining is small, but it does look like they’d be near the top it was to join. Purdue poses different challenges to the others, and it will take another good week of practice to knock off the Boilermakers.

Freeman wasn’t happy with his response to Aneyas Williams‘ penalty

After watching the film of the celebration that caused the penalty and his reaction, Freeman wasn’t happy with the way he responded. He doesn’t want outsides to see that, as they will make their own narrative and opinion of the relationship that the has with players. Freeman apologized to Williams for the way he reacted, as it’s not just the players having learning moments during games. He wants the players to have fun and celebrate, but doesn’t want them to hurt the team.

Notre Dame’s defensive line is great at reading the offense

The line has been doing a great job identifying protection packages, and they’re taking advantage of it. Freeman said they played excellent on Saturday, as they controlled the game. Anytime you can have an idea of what the offensive line is going to do, it gives the defensive line areas to exploit. He loves what Charlie Partridge has brought to this unit.

Notre Dame success defending the run is due to Chris Ash’s game plan

The Irish are having a ton of success stopping the run, and Freeman put a lot of credit on defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s game plan. It’s unique that the defense has been able to do this by varying fronts, blitz packages, and even running base defense to stop the run. It helps when you have an elite group of linebackers to help out the line.

New eligibility rules helping Notre Dame play freshman early

There are a lot of freshman playing on special teams, which often sets them up for much more playing time down the line. Freeman wants to find ways to get some of his impressive freshman roles, and it has come with this unit. There are no long conversations about if they should hold players back to redshirt them, the Irish won’t hesitate to play anyone if they are ready and can do the job, regardless of class.

Notre Dame’s defense has helped offensive mindset

When you are behind, you call it a bit differently as Freeman said, but constantly being in the lead, “it effect’s the mindset of how you call plays.” It’s a different way to coach when you are almost always in the lead, and it makes calling your offense much easier. Hopefully, this continues to be the way Notre Dame is handing its games.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Takeaways from Marcus Freeman wrapping up MSU, previewing Purdue

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