Marcus Freeman made his mark at Notre Dame as the guy who connects. He has been the energizer, the motivator, the man who brings the juice after Brian Kelly’s era. But even the most composed leaders have their boiling point, right? In a 25-10 win over Boston College, that cool cracked as tensions boiled on the sideline. And who became the unlikely target of Freeman’s fury? Notre Dame’s third kicker.  

Kicking woes have followed Freeman’s program like a shadow. The head coach has watched missed extra points and errant field goals for two seasons. However, this time, third kicker Marcello Diomede ended up taking the blast. On November 6, Tyler Horka posted a clip from the Notre Dame vs Boston face-off. He wrote, “Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and head coach Marcus Freeman ripped into Marcello Diomede when he became the third Fighting Irish kicker to miss a kick in ND’s 25-10 win over Boston College.”

Freeman’s patience is hanging by a thread after three different kickers turned routine field goals into a disaster reel. Diomede missed an extra point attempt in Chestnut Hill. But before him, two others were there. Noah Burnette’s lingering right hip issue has turned this season into an uphill battle. Though he’s 5-of-6 on field goals for the Irish, Burnette missed two extra points, one of them kicking off a nightmare day for Notre Dame’s special teams on Nov. 1 at Boston College. Notre Dame’s freshman kickoff specialist Erik Schmidt, too, gave Freeman a hard time.

The Milwaukee product, the one with the booming leg, badly missed a 35-yard attempt to close the first half. This, in turn, left the Irish clinging to a five-point lead in what would eventually become a 25-10 win over the struggling Eagles. But Freeman and Mike Denbrock were spotted only giving Diomede a lesson. Now, where do Freeman’s three kickers stand at the moment?

Burnette’s leading the trio with 20-of-22 on PATs and 5-of-6 on field goals. Freshman Schmidt has been solid on extra points (12-of-13) but is still searching for his first field goal after two misses. Diomede’s numbers are slimmer, 2-of-3 on extra points, no field-goal tries yet. Meanwhile, the kicker issue is not something new for Freeman and co.

Injuries shadowed Mitch Jeter all season, and Notre Dame’s kicking game felt it. He watched the Irish limp to a 15-of-27 mark on field goals, including two blocked in a stunning 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. Still, when it mattered most, Jeter came through clutch, drilling the game-winner against Penn State to seal a 27-24 victory and punch Notre Dame’s ticket to the national championship. As Freeman struggles to get rid of this nagging issue, the program turned into a laughingstock.

Analysts not buying into Marcus Freeman and co.’s top 10 glory 

The CFP committee’s first rankings dropped on Tuesday, November 4, and Freeman’s Notre Dame cracked the top 10 at No. 10. Not bad for a team that started 0–2 with losses to Texas A&M and Miami. Since then, the Irish have strung together six straight wins and climbed back into the mix. However, the rankings still caught some side eyes. The reason?

Freeman’s boys are sitting ahead of No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma, and No. 18 Miami, each with the same number of losses and arguably boasting more impressive wins. And yes, that’s the same Miami team that handed the Irish their opening-week defeat under the national spotlight. On that note, On3’s Ari Wasserman shared his expert take, “Notre Dame is ranked ahead of Texas and Oklahoma… I think this year’s Notre Dame team is the most mis-ranked team I’ve ever seen in the initial CFP Poll in a decade.”

However, the CFP chair, Mack Rhoades, defends Marcus Freeman and co.’s rankings based on how they have bounced back after hitting a wall. “We talked about, I think early on defensively, maybe they weren’t as good as what we thought they would be,” he said. “But certainly most recent, it seems like they’ve been much, much better defensively.” With Notre Dame back in the CFP hunt, it’s time for Marcus Freeman to patch up the cracks carefully without turning the gridiron into a blame game.