Marcus Freeman is trapped in a Boneyard of Bad Losses, and it's getting hot in there

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may be miserable right now, but at least it's a feeling they're used to.

Afterall, would it be a Notre Dame season without an inexplicable letdown against a massive underdog?

On Saturday, the Irish fell 16-14 to the Northern Illinois Huskies. A last-minute field goal sealed the deal on the upset, which came a week after the Notre Dame thought they'd made a College Football Playoff statement against Texas A&M.

NIU calls these games against higher-level opposition "Boneyard Games." They officially get to call this one a "Boneyard Win."

And it's starting to feel like Marcus Freeman is stuck in his own personal Boneyard of Bad Losses. And the college football world is taking notice.

The Huskies had trouble finding the endzone outside of Antario Brown's 83-yard touchdown catch. But their offense moved the ball well enough to create field goal opportunities and Kanon Woodill managed to his three of those, including the 35-yard game winner.

Meanwhile, Riley Leonard still hasn't thrown a touchdown pass. He threw two interceptions in this one though.

The Irish were 28-point favorites at home against Northern Illinois. Two of their four losses in 2022 were sizable underdogs as well. Everyone in college football has been waiting for Notre Dame and Freeman to take the next step towards contention. These losses maintain the skepticism that surrounds both.

Freeman's seat isn't exactly hot. He's 20-9 as a head coach and well-liked within the program. But standards at Notre Dame are higher than losing at home to the likes of Northern Illinois, (non-contending) Stanford and Marshall.

Fortunately for Freeman, one loss doesn't eliminate Notre Dame from the College Football Playoff. The margin for error just got significantly smaller though. The Irish expect to be there this year with a standout defense and Riley Leonard at quarterback. If they don't get there, Freeman is going to have to answer for that.