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Notre Dame’s defense again came up short Saturday night, and head coach Marcus Freeman did not shy away from admitting as much following a 41-40 loss to No. 16 Texas A&M. The defeat dropped the eighth-ranked Irish to 0-2 for the first time in program history, with both setbacks coming against ranked opponents.
When asked why his pass rush could not consistently pressure Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed, Freeman conceded the Irish had exhausted their options.
“Yeah, we threw all the calls that we have that we think will try to create some pressure and force the quarterback to go to a place we want him to go. There were times towards the end of the game, I thought we did a better job at that,” he said.
But Freeman noted the strategy backfired.
“We get beat with an explosive play because we bring six and we’re playing zone behind it, we don’t get enough pressure; the quarterback extends the play. It’s like you’ve got to be very strategic in terms of rush and coverage work together,” he explained. “So we have to get better at both rush and coverage. And I don’t have the answer for you right now, like what specifically we’re going to do, but we have to get better and we have to identify what it is.”
The Irish, coming off a 27-24 opening loss at Miami, looked fired up even before kickoff. They clashed with Texas A&M players as both teams left the field after warmups. Yet that intensity did not prevent a second straight heartbreaking finish.
A last-second touchdown pass from Reed sealed Notre Dame’s fate after a botched extra point earlier in the contest. Freeman tried to strike a determined tone.
“We’re 0-2, lost to two good opponents. We’re guaranteed 12, that’s what we always say. We’ve got the next one coming up soon.”
Freeman ruled out altering defensive play callers, emphasizing that execution matters more than scheme. The Irish will look to recover Sept. 20 at home against Purdue at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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