Earlier in the season after the Northern Illinois loss, many Notre Dame fans were calling for both head coach Marcus Freeman to be fired and quarterback Riley Leonard to be benched. As ridiculous as it was back then, fans had every right to be upset over the loss. However, sometimes the Irish faithful can overreact and be negative in times when things go so wrong for the team. After that loss, both fans, players, coaches, administration, and even pundits just needed to take a step back and just look at everything. Freeman should not have been fired even if there was a worryingly trend of losing to bad teams and Leonard should not have been benched even if he had arguably the worst performance by a Notre Dame quarterback. Those two are huge reasons for why the Irish are playing in the quarterfinals of the college football playoffs and the team probably would not have been there if those two were gone. Because of that, those people who doubted both Freeman and Leonard should be apologizing to them and admitting they were wrong.
Yes, it might have seemed like doomsday after the loss to NIU, but the pessimists immediately went to the forefront and exclaimed the season was over or they couldn't see the team winning the rest of the games on the schedule. Absolutely no basis to make those statements except for watching one bad performance. Didn't take into account that this was one of the most talented Notre Dame teams in years and that the schedule was one of the easiest in the nation. It didn't matter that all the team had to do was win the rest of their games and win convincingly, the same pessimists still tried to push a narrative that could easily be torn to shreds. What made them think that this group of players were going to lose another game or that one loss to a side like NIU was the dagger for any playoff hopes? Just a lack of confidence and because of being proven wrong, these pessimists should apologize to the players and the coaches along with Freeman and Leonard.
Yes, the loss to NIU and having an easy schedule meant that the margin for error was small, the Irish knew that the only way to silence the haters (who felt vindicated after that loss) and the pessimists was to take care of their own business and win out. Notre Dame was favored to win the rest of their games throughout the rest of the schedule and proved that all the pundits having them as a top ten side in the preseason as correct. It had been raved about how talented the team was and now the Irish are on the precipice of a deep playoff run and even a possible national championship. All the negative narratives about how this was just another typical overhyped/overrated side or disappointing season have now fallen out the wayside and the narrative now is how this team is one of the best Notre Dame teams since 1990 whom have a realistic chance at winning a national championship. Confidence is high even if there might be some who are a bit too optimistic, but the "realists" and national pundits seem to believe that narrative to have some legitimate basis to back on. Is the apology and admission of being wrong coming yet?
Like mentioned earlier, the Irish probably would not have been in this position if it wasn't for Freeman and Leonard. The contract extension for Freeman, no matter how weird the timing of it was, only goes to show how not only committed the school is to him as the head coach, but also how confident they are in him and his abilities to win and bringing a national championship to South Bend. Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua has talked about how him and Freeman are obsessed with winning as well as getting a national championship. That speaks volumes about Freeman, plus he has created a culture players and coaches alike love. Leonard, on the other hand, used his dual threat ability as a quarterback to galvanize Notre Dame's offense and become as lethal as they were. After that game against NIU, Leonard was the seventh best quarterback in college football and helped lead the Irish win ten straight games en route to a playoff appearance. Sure, his arm wasn't as strong as many had hoped, but he completed 68% of his passes and even set a school record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. That's incredibly efficient and while opposing defenses would focus on what he would do, it made them forget the running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price which would create so much havoc. Leonard was a huge reason why headaches were created for opposing defenses because game planning against Notre Dame's offense was close to impossible.
Now is the time to apologize. Now is the time to admit being wrong about them too. Sure, pessimism can overtake being logical or taking time to reflect, but it also makes one look really bad. However, the one redeeming and satisfying part of the loss to NIU is to shut up the haters of this team. It's easy to understand the jealousy of Notre Dame, but the haters don't have many good enough reasons to dislike the team. Freeman and Leonard are huge reasons why those haters can shut up now, but they also have the ability to not only prove something more, they can also make them look silly if they also win a national championship.
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