Marcus Freeman’s first Notre Dame win won’t win fans over

Marcus Freeman got his first win as head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, albeit barely.

The first two weeks of the 2022 season did not get off to the start that Notre Dame had expected. While a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes was not not shocking, they did lose to the Marshall Thundering Herd in a massive upset. The Fighting Irish had the chance to get win No. 1 win not just on the year, but on head coach Marcus Freeman’s resume.

Notre Dame got the job done, albeit barely, as they picked up the 24-17 win over the California Golden Bears. The game ended after California could not pull off a game-tying, Hail Mary touchdown reception in the closing seconds of the game.

Take a look at how close this was to going to overtime.

Notre Dame gets first win of Marcus Freeman era, but it was not easy

Notre Dame seemingly had the game won on the final drive on multiple occasions. First, California quarterback Jack Plummer seemingly threw a game-ending interception. Instead, that was wiped off the board after JD Bertrand was called for targeting and subsequently ejected from the game.

Plummer seemingly turned the ball over later that drive, which was returned for a touchdown. Yet, it was determined through replay that Plummer’s right knee was down. That gave the Golden Bears one more shot to send it to overtime.

And that is how Notre Dame fans got to cringe and wince as they waited for the football to hit the ground.

Notre Dame had actually trailed California 10-7 at halftime and 17-14 near the end of the third quarter. But they were able to pull ahead following a game-tying 47-yard field goal by Blake Grupe and a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Drew Pynes to tight end Michael Mayer.

The Fighting Irish were 3-for-12 on third downs, and gained a total of 297 yards, as opposed to California’s 296 yards.

Regardless of how it went, a win is a win, and Notre Dame will take it. They now prepare to face the North Carolina Tar Heels next week.

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