Nick Saban pulls page out of his philosophy to warn Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame ahead of high-profile clash vs. Navy

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is preparing for an important clash against Navy. The Paul "Bear" Bryant Award has gotten some advice from arguably the greatest college football head coach of all time.

According to On3 Sports, while speaking on College GameDay, Nick Saban said,

"I would just say to Notre Dame, watch out. We played Georgia Southern, I think it was 2011 or 2012, we had the number one team, a great defensive team, in the country. Given up just over 300 yards for 10 games. Played these guys in the 11th game of the season. They rushed for over 300 yards in that game. They were cutting our players. We had all the NFL draft pick guys. They are tapping out. They did not want to play against that offense, man."

Saban continued,

"I am telling you, it can be if you don’t have a great scheme and your players don’t understand it, and you don’t spend a significant enough time preparing for it, you can get gassed by an option offense. And you know, this Blake Horvath guy’s pretty damn good at it."

Saban pointed out Navy's starting quarterback, Blake Horvath. Horvath is having an impressive campaign and enters the Notre Dame showdown with a stat line of 1,143, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions in eight games.

Saban is advising Marcus Freeman to prepare his troops for what might be a long night against Navy's option offense. It's a must-win game for both sides, as the postseason is approaching.

Marcus Freeman has been linked to numerous high-profile vacancies

Marcus Freeman has thrived as the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The defensive guru has guided the program to three consecutive winning seasons and led them to the national championship game in 2024.

Saban's excellence in the dugout has led to him being linked to the vacant LSU, Penn State, and Florida jobs. The LSU Tigers are searching for a new head coach after firing Brian Kelly, the Penn State Nittany Lions are in the hunt after parting ways with James Franklin, and the Florida Gators need a new head coach following their decision to move on from Bill Napier.

However, Freeman seems content with his current situation at Notre Dame. According to CBS Sports, Marcus Freeman has zero interest in leaving the Fighting Irish for vacancies at Florida or Penn State.

Rather than target other roles, Freeman seems to be focusing on Notre Dame's playoff push. The Fighting Irish need to finish the season strong to feature in the postseason after suffering two losses earlier in the season. First up is Saturday's game against Navy.

Edited by Nick Igbokwe