One of the only two transfer QB1s, who played in the final, had two TDs on 21-of-30 passing to go along with a rushing TD. After that first touchdown, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish struggled to move the ball throughout the second quarter and much of the third. Riley Leonard connected with Jaden Greathouse for 2 touchdowns in the second half to create some back-half momentum, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to make the comeback Marcus Freeman’s team needed. As a transfer QB who made the transfer in the finals, he wasn’t all to blame for.

But blame has a funny way of sticking when the season ends one game short. For Notre Dame, the national title loss to Georgia didn’t just close a storybook—it reopened a medical report. And six months after the Irish fell in the Sugar Bowl, analysts are drawing a direct line between Marcus Freeman’s late-season play calls and a nagging injury that never quite went away. Jeremiyah Love. Joel Klatt, in his Top 10 players list, ranked Love at No. 8 and didn’t hesitate to connect Notre Dame’s offensive identity with the sophomore’s health. “Jeremiyah Love gives you that ability,” Klatt said.

“He is a dynamic athletic threat. And for the Irish, this guy is outstanding. I don’t think he was really even able to show his full abilities, which you saw more in the middle of the year against teams like USC right now because of that injury that he sustained against USC, and he wasn’t really himself towards the end of the regular season and even into the playoffs.” Love, who averaged nearly 7 yards per carry last season, became more of a decoy than a detonator late in the year.

“That didn’t stop him from getting 98 yards and a touchdown against Indiana,” Klatt noted, “but I don’t think he was at his best against Georgia. I believe he aggravated that injury again against Indiana. He was dealing with the flu again. Like, there’s been reasons why we haven’t even seen the full potential of Jeremiyah Love.” The play that may have finally done it came in the third quarter against Georgia, when Love went to block on a Riley Leonard first-down run, got caught between defenders, and limped off the field. It wasn’t a tackle. It was a sacrifice.

Which leads to the blunder. With Love already running on fumes, Marcus Freeman greenlit a 10-minute drive in the national title game. Leaning on Leonard, a banged-up backfield, and pure grit. “If Coach wants to call my number and have me run the ball every single play, I’ve got no problem with it,” Leonard said afterward. “You’ve seen me put my body on the line for this team over and over again. Whether I’m running the ball or passing the ball, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to do everything I can to help the team win.” Noble? Sure. Necessary? Maybe not. Leonard was never the same after the Sugar Bowl. Still his three-and-out in the final two minutes sealed ND’s confetti moment.

The irony is, Leonard looked like the guy who could win it all just a week earlier. Against Penn State, the Irish played their cleanest second half of the season. Leonard opened with a game-tying drive that injected life into the dome and followed with quick, decisive reads that bled the clock and gashed the Nittany Lions. Notre Dame took over both sides of the ball and punched their ticket with cold-blooded execution. The coach’s halftime speech helped, “he said ‘History is written by conquerors, and we’re holding the pen…’” Leonard said while being interviewed after being named the game’s offensive MVP.

But that version of Notre Dame never walked into the Superdome. Instead, Freeman’s offense got stuck between what it was and what it wanted to be. The physical, downhill identity. Something Brian Kelly always had but couldn’t modernize was missing its dynamic gear. “Like Brian Kelly had good physical, tough, fundamentally sound teams. But they would go against some of the SEC teams in the playoff or in the National Championship game, and they didn’t have the dynamic player that allows you to go out there and really compete,” Klatt explained. “Well, guess what, Jeremiah. Love gives you that ability.”

Don’t bet against Marcus Freeman

The Fighting Irish came painfully close to rewriting the fairytale script last year before falling just short to Ohio State in the national title game. And while 2025 will bring a new set of challenges. Including replacing QB Leonard and some serious firepower on defense, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum isn’t backing off his belief in Notre Dame’s postseason potential. In fact, he’s doubling down.

“Yes, and the reason is the head coach. Marcus Freeman is elite,” Finebaum said when asked if the Irish can return to the College Football Playoff. “He showed that last year, beating and out-coaching James Franklin in the crunch at the Orange Bowl. It was brilliant, it was a masterclass, and he nearly pulled it off against Ohio State.”

That’s some strong praise and it’s not just lip service. Finebaum made it clear he believes Freeman is operating on a different level. “He has done more with less talent than anyone in college football, so therefore, even though this team has serious question marks. They have a difficult schedule opening with Miami, I think he will find a way to mold them and push them back into the Playoff and maybe a decent run.” Vegas seems to agree. Notre Dame is currently sitting at -200 to make the CFP this fall.