What Marcus Freeman Said After Beating NC State

RALEIGH — Head coach Marcus Freeman and the 16th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish handed Dave Doeren and NC State their third loss of the 2025 season. The Irish dominated the Wolfpack in the second half of the ballgame, ultimately winning 36-7 in front of their home crowd.

Notre Dame's defense contained sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey all afternoon and picked off the young signal caller three times in the fourth quarter. Freeman spoke after the win about the efforts of his team, as well as the efforts of the Wolfpack and their players.

What Did Freeman Say About the win over NC State?

Dave Doeren and Marcus Freema — Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, right, and NC State head coach Dave Doeren shake hands after Notre Dame won a NCAA football game 36-7 against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Notre Dame's four-game winning streak

"You know what I'm going to say. It's the commitment and sacrifice to the process that we have. Maybe I'll say that in a different way. I could just say preparation. But the commitment to what we're asking our guys to do, the sacrifice they're making, the choice they have to make every single Saturday and put team before me, and the choice they have to make Monday through Friday to say I have to elevate as an individual. I have to get better."

"If they continue to do that, they'll understand that we have room to grow. This is where we're at. We've got to continuously get better, and that's just. You have to train your mind to just focus on the moment. I know a lot of people focus on the big picture, but we can't.

We have to focus on what we have in front of us. That's opportunity, one, to enjoy this victory, but now go back to work and improve, and that hopefully will get us this four-game winning streak, the results that we want."

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after the defense scored a safety in the second half of a NCAA football game against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On his halftime message to the team after only being up 10-7 over the Wolfpack

"My message was stop beating Notre Dame. That was the message. You look at the touchdown drive in the first half, and bad technique, we give up an explosive play and they convert on two or three 3rd downs and that's the result. The offense, I already mentioned it, the penalties that put you behind the sticks result in punting the ball or turning wrong downs."

On the performance of the defense under coordinator Chris Ash, a friend of NC State head coach Dave Doeren

"I think what I talked about after that week, maybe it was Purdue, is that there was two options. You blame."

"If Chris Ash can blame the players and the staff, and in return the staff could blame him and the players can blame him, or you guys come together, you double down, you fix it, you have uncomfortable conversations and you really work tirelessly to get this thing to a better level and that's what they did."

Sep 11, 2025; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren walks his team out on the field against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images | Luke Jamroz-Imagn Images

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