Notre Dame locker room was in utter shambles after losing national championship

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fought valiantly against a more talented Ohio State team in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, but ultimately fell just a bit short. While the Buckeyes rejoiced and Ryan Day slayed the dragon – and many of the narratives used against him this past season at the same time – there are always two sides to the same coin. The Irish were crushed.

Notre Dame's season was far from perfect. A loss to Northern Illinois, of all teams, seemed to doom their Playoff chances midseason. Yet, the Irish rebounded and flipped the script, going 14-2 (playoff wins and loss to OSU included) in a season Notre Dame fans will never forget. All those arguments that Notre Dame should join a conference? They've been vanquished for now, and it's all thanks to an excellent roster put together by head coach Marcus Freeman, who hasn't accepted any NFL offers for the time being.

Unfortunately, Freeman is coaching college kids, and they rarely think this way. Every moment in these College Football Playoffs is the biggest of their athletic careers to date. It's not that the likes of Riley Leonard and a fierce Notre Dame rushing attack failed to place this game in context of their incredible accomplishments this season, it's that context doesn't exist for them, at least not yet.

Notre Dame's locker room was a mess after National Championship defeat

Per Dan Wolken of USA Today, the scenes from the Notre Dame locker room after the game were...not great. The Irish must learn how to deal with this kind of defeat.

"Bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room, players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions. Amateur hour," Wolken wrote on X.

I would not go as far as to call out Notre Dame's players. While there is no place for mistreatment of the media in sports, these players are literally amateurs, as Wolken unintentionally notes. We should expect nothing else in times of triumph and the downside of defeat.

Wolken also noted that video wasn't allowed in the Notre Dame locker room, which isn't the case for most professional sports but apparently was the NCAA's policy on the matter.

If anything, the reaction to Monday night's loss by Notre Dame players and staff is a learning experience for them. So much blood, sweat and tears went into this memorable season for the Irish, it would be a shame if a couple moments of weakness tarnished it in any way.