This Thursday, social media went into a frenzy when a tweet claimed that Marcus Freeman had reached a “handshake agreement” to become the next head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. It declared that the Razorbacks had “hit a homerun.” The post sent Notre Dame fans into panic mode and Arkansas supporters into celebration. But before anyone starts packing boxes or printing welcome banners, it’s worth taking a closer look at what’s actually happening behind the scenes.

The truth is simple: No, Marcus Freeman is not leaving Notre Dame for Arkansas. There’s no credible reporting from established college football insiders backing up this claim. Moreover, Freeman himself has given every indication that he’s committed to the program he’s building in South Bend.

The viral tweet appears to be nothing more than speculation without substance. Notre Dame is 7-2 this season and very much in the College Football Playoff conversation, with Freeman at the helm of one of college football’s most prestigious programs.​ Also, from Notre Dame to the new Vanderbilt of the SEC? Yeah, right.

Marcus Freeman actually addressed the constant coaching rumors back in October, when his name was being floated for multiple high-profile openings. Speaking on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, he didn’t dodge the question. “The simple thing would be to say, ‘Oh, I’m not interested, I got a great job.’ And yeah, is that the case? Yes, but you know, when I do hear a little bit of the noise — and I try to control the things I hear, but people know how to text you or say certain things — it’s a reminder of the gratitude that I have to have for the position this program’s in, for the position I have,” Freeman explained.​

He delved deeper, discussing what truly matters when rumors start circulating. “Like, that’s what I reflect on is that, man, first of all, your name wouldn’t be mentioned if your program wasn’t doing really good things. And the reason why we’re doing really good things is because everybody in the program, right? It’s not one person. I always tell our guys, outside of this building, they’re always going to point the finger at one person when you have success and one person when you have failure. And it’s usually the head coach or quarterbacks, right? So I know the reality is it takes us all.”

That perspective tells you everything you need to know about where his head is at. A program’s success cannot be reduced to a handful of people, like the media would want fans to think about. The reality is that Freeman’s name will continue popping up every time a major program has an opening. And that’s a testament to what he’s accomplished at Notre Dame.

The ghost of August could haunt Notre Dame’s playoff dreams

While Freeman isn’t going anywhere, the Irish are firmly in playoff conversations with one major problem lurking in the shadows. It’s not the ranked opponent they’ll face this week. It’s a team they already lost to back in August.

Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst, Joel Klatt, set the record straight when discussing the potential Miami-Notre Dame dilemma during a recent episode of his podcast. “So then Miami. Let’s see what if Miami wins out. Everybody would then just be sitting there thinking to themselves, ‘Who’s the argument with?’ Is the argument with Notre Dame? And in that scenario, it gets interesting. And I vow to you, our listeners, that I will do this if this is the case. If it comes down to a discussion and a debate between Miami and Notre Dame, Miami should go to the playoff.”

Klatt didn’t mince words about why that head-to-head matchup matters so much, saying emphatically, “I do not care what they have looked like. You have to honor a direct head-to-head matchup or else what are we doing? What are we doing?” The game in question happened on August 31 at Hard Rock Stadium, where the No. 10 Hurricanes edged the No. 6 Fighting Irish 27-24 in an absolute thriller. If both teams end up with similar resumes competing for the same playoff spot, the direct matchup should be the tiebreaker, regardless of how inconsistent Miami has looked at times this season.