The 2025 season is done with week 8, and it’s time for the big prediction – the top 12 College Football Playoff picks. College football analysts have started to drop their hot takes, and it gave birth to a possibility. Yes, a repeat of the 2024 fight for the CFP title between Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish. While we are yet to find out about the predictions coming true, Freeman had already cleared his feelings about facing his alma mater. 

A linebacker for Ohio State from 2004-08, Freeman appeared in 51 games and became a force at the back with 264 tackles for the Buckeyes. Yes, his Ohio State roots run deep, shaping his coaching philosophy. On October 20, Freeman was invited as the guest on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast and recalled his experience of going to the Ohio State campus as the opposing team’s coach. He said, “Yeah, I think the first time I actually played Ohio State, I was defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, and that was unique going into Ohio Stadium.”

As Freeman upgraded himself from being the linebackers coach to the head coach in Notre Dame, he first faced off Ohio State in 2022. Then came the 2024 CFP title clash. In the meantime, Freeman’s mindset has shifted, too. He has upgraded from being an alum to being a head coach. He no longer thinks about his alma mater, instead puts Notre Dame at top priority. “And then all of a sudden it becomes an opponent, right?” said Freeman.

He continued, “There’s not a Ohio State former player. It’s like, ‘Okay, how do I lead this team that I’m in charge of leading to win a game versus a really talented team?’ And so I think the experience of the first two times I played Ohio State as a coordinator and as a head coach helped me understand like this isn’t personal. This is nothing to do with where I went to school. This is personal for me to make sure I lead this team to be as well prepared for this opponent as I can.” 

It’s pretty much evident that a hunger to seek the 2024 CFP title miss is burning bright within Freeman and his boys. The Fighting Irish started the season 0-2, then racked up five back-to-back wins. Out of the upcoming games, Navy and Syracuse are predicted to be going in their favor. However, the looming trips are to Boston College, Stanford and Pitt.

Transitioning from one role to the other, Freeman has transformed his heart into rock. He wants the same passion from his players, too. College football has no place for emotion, as he advised his corner Christian Gray. The player’s game didn’t go as planned against USC. He carried the burden of being penalized three times for pass interference. That’s when Freeman said, “Nobody feels bad for you.”

Does this tough mindset calls up for NFL coaching discussions?

Marcus Freeman might be on the NFL radar

Ever since Penn State had pulled the trigger on James Franklin, like other head coaches, Freeman’s name popped up, too. After all, the Notre Dame head coach carries Big Ten experience, having worked as an assistant at Ohio State and Purdue. As Colin Cowherd shared the discussion he had with Freeman’s agent. 

“I was watching Marcus Freeman, and his agent texted me because I said, ‘You have to pay Marcus Freeman whatever the market bears. You can’t let him go. Notre Dame’s a better job to me than Penn State. But Marcus Freeman is what a college coach should be today. Young, handsome, and energetic recruiter, smart, just like a player. He’s tough. Like his team,’” said Cowherd. 

Many consider Freeman to be underpaid. He makes $7,421,201 at Notre Dame and ranks No.26 on USA Today’s list of the highest paid head coaches in college football. He signed an extension in 2024 that secures him for six more years in South Bend. However, his buyout figures are still unexplored. But Cowherd has put Freeman switching to another college discussion to rest.

In the latest episode of his podcast, the analyst shut down Penn State’s chances. “Marcus Freeman, do you stay at Notre Dame? Because I think he’s I don’t think there’s a job in college he would leave for,” said the analyst. “I think he stays forever at Notre Dame, but I watch him and I’m like, I I listen to him. I watch him. I follow their recruiting. I think he’s the next college guy to go pro.”

His co-host, John Middlekauff, doubled this down “Yeah. To me, the only job I would leave if I was him would be Ohio State’s where he played. You’re not leaving Notre Dame for Penn State. I mean, you were just in the national championship game.”

If Notre Dame falls short in the CFP race, the real question is – does Marcus Freeman head back to his alma mater, make the NFL leap, or double down on South Bend loyalty?