Perfect Start By Notre Dame Is Ruined By Epic Collapse
It was the perfect start. Or nearly perfect.
Notre Dame scored four of the first five touchdowns and took a 28-7 lead against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl in the first half.
Then it all came crashing down in an unforgiving and unforgettable way.
The Marcus Freeman honeymoon ended officially when Cowboy receiver Tay Martin caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Sanders with 37 seconds left in the first half.
Oklahoma State had scored on a four-play 75-yard drive in 37 seconds at the end of the first half.
That’s when the dam burst for the Fighting Irish in a 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl.
Their defense couldn’t stop Oklahoma State’s offense. It was that simple.
What looked like it would be a big post-game party for the Fighting Irish will turn out to be an offseason filled with what-ifs and questions going forward.
What if Kyren Williams had played? Would Notre Dame had been able to run the ball effectively, which would’ve probably made a difference. Notre Dame finished with 29 yards rushing.
What if Freeman had used Tyler Buchner to change the tempo in the second half? OSU didn’t have to defend the run. It made it easy for them to tee off on the passing game.
What if Notre Dame had figured out a way to slow down Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders? Sanders was the star. He rushed for 125 yards and passed for 371.
The Cowboys made Notre Dame’s defense look like putty after struggling for a little under a quarter in the first half.
OSU coach Mike Gundy showed what it means to be a good in-game coach.
It’s something Freeman is going to have to learn.
Gundy went to a full-court up-tempo offense after the slow start.
It was the trick Notre Dame used to get its offense jump-started in the second half of the season. Remember the USC game? It was all about quick passes and quick reads for Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan.
That fast pace works better with a quarterback like Sanders who can run the ball.
The Fighting Irish defense failed in a big way, giving up 605 yards. Ultimately, that’s Freeman’s responsibility.
Does that mean that the November the defense had, where it gave up just 23 total points, was built on the backs of some really bad teams? Afraid so. North Carolina had a good offense but it torched Notre Dame for 564 yards. The Fighting Irish were just lucky to win that shootout.
It’s a rough start.
Notre Dame blows a three touchdown lead and falls to 0-8 in New Year’s Six Bowl games. That includes their College Football Playoff bowl games.
You can’t blame this loss on the offense.
It scored 35 points and racked up 551 yards.
To a man, the Notre Dame defense said it wasn’t surprised by the different looks, including the tempo offense, that Oklahoma State employed.
If true, then the Fighting Irish have much work to do in the offseason on tackling and conditioning.
The defense was flat-out gassed, and it didn’t have an answer for Sanders.
Freeman will have to pour all his energy into being a relentless recruiter while figuring out how to snag a wide receiver or two in the portal.
He’s going to have to hire a defensive coordinator, probably a new offensive line coach, and a special teams coach.
He’s on the clock.
All eyes will be firmly focused on every move he makes.
Before this game, Freeman was an energetic, enthusiastic breath of new life who would bring a fresh set of eyes.
Now, he’s just another inexperienced young coach who has to figure it out.
It’s early. He’ll have plenty of chances to make it better but he’s used up his one-time free pass.
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