Marcus Freeman Takes Blame for Notre Dame’s Loss to Ohio State in CFP Championship

Head coach Marcus Freeman shouldered the blame for Notre Dame’s 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Freeman took responsibility for mistakes and communication breakdowns that resulted in big plays for the Buckeyes:

“You’re always making mistakes, but those type of detrimental mistakes when you play a really, really good football team cost you points. I think that’s probably the biggest thing that has stuck out to me even in between series, the communication. ‘Hey, we’re good, we got it.’ Well, we can’t make mistakes. It falls on my shoulders. And as the head coach, we have to prepare and be better prepared for this moment. These guys gave everything they got.”

This wasn’t a mistake-filled game in the traditional sense with a lot of penalties and turnovers. The only turnover of the night was Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s fumble in the fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes had twice as many penalties (six to three) and nearly twice as many penalty yards (58 to 30) as Notre Dame.

Some of the execution, particularly on defense, was where the problems came for the Fighting Irish. Jeremiah Smith’s touchdown catch in the second quarter came on a play when Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray appeared to be pointing out where the ball was going, but no one stayed with the Buckeyes star wideout.

The start of the game couldn’t have gone better for the Irish. It was a masterclass of execution, as they went 75 yards on 18 plays and converted two fourth downs to take a 7-0 lead.

Things quickly went downhill when Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and put up 31 unanswered points.

Notre Dame was able to rebound with 16 straight points of its own to cut the deficit to 31-23. Freeman did make a questionable decision to attempt a field goal trailing 31-15 with 9:27 remaining from Ohio State’s 9-yard line.

Getting into the end zone on a 4th-and-goal when you need nine yards isn’t an easy play, but the field-goal attempt keeps it at a two-possession game when you didn’t have much time left on the clock.

The move backfired anyway because Mitch Jeter’s 27-yard attempt bounced off the left upright to keep the deficit at 16 points.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, Freeman and the Irish can be proud of a terrific year overall. They won 13 straight after a Sept. 7 loss to Northern Illinois and played in the national title game for the first time since January 2013.