Notre Dame is 2-2 after their blowout win against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Marcus Freeman’s side was dominant throughout the game, without letting the Razorbacks take the lead. The match went one-sided since the second quarter, restricting their opponents from moving the field. Notre Dame had 641 yards with an average of 8.9 yards per play. The QB CJ Carr and the RB duo Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love played a key role in the dominant (56-13) win.

After the first two weeks’ loss, Marcus Freeman and their side were under pressure right away. Both of their losses were so close, and the game slipped from their hands at the last play. Since then, the Irish have differentiated the points of at least 26 points. These two blowout wins might ease some pressure on Freeman for now. However, two of the football legends reminded him that the job is not done yet, giving an ultimatum.

On the latest edition of Nightcap, Shannon Sharpe (Unc) and Chad “Ochocino” Johnson (Ocho) reacted to the Notre Dame vs Arkansas match-up. They gave a big shoutout to CJ Carr for matching the Notre Dame freshman record of Ron Powlus with 4 TD passes, after 31 years. Carr also completed  22 of 30, passing 354 yards, where 294 yards and 4 TDs came in the first half of the game. He hasn’t played the 4th quarter, as there is no need, with the Irish leading Razorbacks by 36 points. Apart from him, Jeremiyah Love caught two of those passes and rushed for 2 more touchdowns, which led to a 56-13 win.

Notre Dame’s dominant win impressed Unc and Ocho. “That was a good bounce-back based on what happened last week,” Ocho said, and Unc accepted. The program came together and made a statement after two bad games. However, they gave Marcus Freeman an ultimatum that if they lose any more games, they won’t be able to make it into the playoffs. Ocho said, “Now, you don’t wanna lose any more games.” “If you lose another game, you’re done. You’re not going anywhere. You’re not,” Unc told. They claim that they have never seen a team make it into the College Football Playoff, losing three games, especially at this level of competition.

Marcus Freeman is Proud of Notre Dame’s Progress

Marcus Freeman, in the post-game press conference, felt proud of his team’s progress. He said that their program has blocked a lot of noise (criticism) and handled it well. However, he is aware that the job is not done yet and will get back to work and keep getting better. “As I told the group, I’m extremely proud of just the way they prepared,” Freeman said. “They were able to really kind of block out a lot of noise and go to work, and that’s both sides of the ball, right? The ability to handle success is a challenge, and the ability to handle criticism is always a challenge. 

“So, I’m proud of both sides of the ball really being able to do that, handle praise and handle criticism, and today was a really good three-phase effort, team win. I told them after, enjoy it. This is what it’s about, but let’s get back to work and keep getting better.” With this win, Notre Dame remains at the No.21 spot for the second week in a row.

So what’s next for the Fighting Irish? They will host Boise State next Saturday, on October 5. Will Notre Dame be able to maintain the winning momentum? We need to wait and watch.