Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman shared his thoughts on the ups and downs of his team's 27-10 win over Michigan State
Notre Dame, Ind. - Notre Dame’s 27-10 over visiting Michigan State Saturday night wasn’t perfect, but the Irish did enough against their old rival to remain perfect by picking up their third win in as many tries this season. The Fighting Irish outgained the Spartans 395-167 in total yardage while forcing two turnovers and have yet to commit a turnover of their own through three games.
Numbers are one thing, but head coach Marcus Freeman knows there are things to improve, but he walked out of Notre Dame Stadium with a new program record 13th consecutive win by a double figure scoring margin.
“It wasn't perfect,” Freeman said afterward. “As everybody saw, but it was a good victory and a hard fought victory. Those are the type of victories that you're going to have to win and find a way to win. They responded to being challenged at halftime a little bit.
“I just didn't think we were playing clean,” Freeman continued. “And you know there's plays where Notre Dame beats Notre Dame, and we've got to eliminate those. But to beat that team and to have some of those errors that we had and to win by 17, it's a good sign.”
An Ill-Fated Fake
Marty Biagi went to his bag of tricks for the first time this season when the Irish tried a fake punt at the end of their third possession of the game. The Irish first faced 4th and 3 at their own 49 and punted, but after Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was flagged for holding during the initial punt, MSU accepted the penalty to make it 4th and 13 at their own 39.
Rather than punt again, Notre Dame went with a fake that was stopped when speedy freshman Brayden Robinson was stopped after an 11-yard gain.
“I've got to let some things go myself,” said of the call to go for the fake. “I probably should have said no -- because we didn't make it, right? You know how it is. Now that we didn't make it, I should have said no. But I love the play. I love the plan. I didn't love the execution. But you know, we’ve got to be aggressive. It's a mentality I have, that we have. I only regret it because it didn't work, but I really love the way our guys bought in and prepared for that play. We just didn't get it done, and it ended up hurting our team.
“You think about that play,” Freeman continued. “The following drive they end up and go down and score a field goal. We go and we score, and then we get a personal foul celebrating, and then they go down and score. That play probably started some negative plays for our team, and I put that on myself, like be smart in that situation. Punt the ball; your defense is playing great.”
Gilbert Goes Off
Wide receiver Micah Gilbert came into the game with 14 career receptions for 174 yards. He left with a career night by reeling in eight catches for 170 yards. It marked Notre Dame’s first 100-yard receiving game of the season and the biggest game for an Irish receiver in almost a decade.
The first play of the game was a 61-yard Gilbert reception, and he added gains of 28 and 39 yards in the second half to set up a CJ Carr touchdown run.
“We capitalized on some shots,” Freeman remarked. “CJ did a good job of putting the ball in a place where he can go make it, and then he's got to go make it. It's twofold. The O-line's got to protect, the quarterback's got to throw it, and the wideout's got to catch it, and we did that pretty well a few times today, and Micah was the recipient of a lot of those.”
Nolan James, Jr Delivers
Running back Nolan James, Jr hit the century mark on the ground with a career best 121 yards on 26 carries. He had just 23 yards on nine carries (2.6) in the first half, but got stronger with more carries in the second half. James grinded out his final 52 yards on eight carries to kill the clock at the end of the game and seal the Irish win.
“First of all, his body,” Freeman said of James. “Like his lower half is low to the ground, low center of gravity, big legs. He's got great balance. He's explosive. In his own way, he's explosive once he sees it, but he's physical and tough to bring down. I think that lower center of gravity really helps him. He's strong in his lower half, but he's explosive, quick, and he has good vision too.”
