How much trouble is Marcus Freeman in?
Marcus Freeman got his first victory as head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. If you watched him after the final whistle, you might not have guessed that was the case.
The first-year head coach looked every bit as troubled as someone should after barely surviving an upset threat from Cal. The Irish might have finally won a game, but they didn’t look like they’ll win many more this season.
The Golden Bears made life as difficult for Notre Dame as Ohio State did in Week 1. In fact, the visitors should feel rather hard done losing by seven points when ND’s first touchdown came only after a phantom offsides penalty negated a missed field goal and extended their drive.
Quarterback Drew Pyne looked out of his depth. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was caught on camera screaming at his backup. The whole thing looked sad.
Maybe Notre Dame can build on the win, find their footing and put their 0-2 start behind them. With North Carolina and BYU coming up, it looks more likely that Freeman will be in an even bigger hole in two weeks’ time.