Notre Dame coach calls Clemson game a heavyweight fight, 'not a David versus Goliath'

Marcus Freeman is in his first full season as head coach for the Fighting Irish. (Photo: Michael Caterina / USATODAY)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Nov 02 13:20:39 GMT-04:00 2022

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman doesn’t want his team looking at this weekend’s game like they're the underdog. Instead, he looks at it like it's two of college football’s blueblood programs going toe-to-toe in a great environment.

The last time Clemson visited Notre Dame (2020), the Irish pulled off the upset and defeated the No. 1 Tigers 47-40 in two overtimes, ending a 36-game winning streak for Clemson. Irish fans rushed the field in celebration, a nod to Clemson’s success over the last decade. The teams play again this weekend in South Bend.

“That's a tough opponent. They are talented. Let's just make sure we say that,” Freeman said of the Tigers. “They're talented as heck. I know we got a battle coming. A tall task ahead of us. But I want our guys saying, ‘We're Notre Dame. This is what we do. We play big games like this.’ It's not a David versus Goliath. This is a heavyweight fight. We got a dang good football team. I've always said it, man.

"When we do exactly what we're supposed to do, we are a good enough football team to win every game we play. But we have to do that, because we've seen if we don't execute, we don't do our job, we're not going to be victorious. You've seen that in some of the games we played this year. This isn't a David versus Goliath. This is Notre Dame versus Clemson. Two powerhouses, two blue blood programs that are going to go battle Saturday night here in Notre Dame Stadium."

No. 4 Clemson and Notre Dame kick off the proceedings at 7:30 pm Saturday night on NBC. One of the keys to the game will be how Notre Dame’s offensive line and running game stack up against Clemson’s defensive line.

"We're gonna find out. You're gonna go against the best. Who's the best? I don't know,” Freeman said. “There's a few schools that have elite defensive lines, this is one of them. I know Ohio State did, too. Across the board, they are so deep and talented and disruptive. It's not just one guy. It's gonna be a big challenge. Our offensive line is playing at a high level and they are getting better, but let's measure ourselves against the best. Across the board, I can name every single one and they have NFL defensive linemen across the board that's going to be a huge challenge.

"But I know our guys are ready. They're excited. Any competitor, I've said this before, wants to measure yourself against the best and so our guys will be excited for this opportunity."

Freeman said he isn’t worried about a lot of orange-clad fans taking over the stadium.

"We played Cincinnati last year here in the stadium and there was some red. It sticks out when you're a bright color maybe, red or orange, in Notre Dame Stadium,” Freeman said. “But it's a home field advantage. To play a team like Clemson in Notre Dame Stadium, it's a huge advantage for us. You go from a game like last week, we're in that loud dome, and everything's got to be on silent count. It was tough. We had two pre-snap penalties, if not more, because of it. We're definitely grateful to be back home, especially to play a team like Clemson in our home stadium. I think that's an advantage for us."

Freeman then detailed what he sees when he watches Clemson.

"I think their ability to run the ball, the ability to stop the run, they're talented. One thing that kind of spoke to me is they never seemed out of it versus Syracuse,” he said. “They were down 21-10 or 21-7 and you could look at their sideline, I like to watch sidelines, and when their quarterback, DJ (Uiagalelei), when he got taken out of the game, to watch that quarterback be the first one cheering the group on and the first one to clap for his quarterback, it tells you that you got a family.

"They got a team. It's not a bunch of selfish individuals on the team. That's what I look for when I watch opponents. We're playing a team that no matter what the score is, they're never out of it. They're about what's best for the team.”