The damage came early for Notre Dame, which dropped its first two games, then spent the next three months trying to erase them. Ten straight wins followed as the Irish finished 10-2. Still, none of it changed the committee’s mind as Miami grabbed the last at-large bid. Many called it a snub. But Marcus Freeman isn’t arguing with the committee. 

“I don’t ever use that term ‘we got snubbed,’” Marcus Freeman said during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “I said we didn’t make the playoffs, and we didn’t do the things it took as a program to make the playoffs.”

That became the starting point for the offseason. No complaints about the committee nor endless debate over what happened. Marcus Freeman and his staff went back to their own work instead, and one problem stood out straight away.

“We’ve used that to evaluate, OK, we can’t start the season 0-2,” he said. “How do we truly look at our process from January till the end of August to really evaluate? Are we doing what’s best? Is there a better way to do it? And we’ve in certain areas tried to change and enhance certain things that we’re doing as we get ready for training camp. We’ll maybe change it just a little bit and in hopes that this new process is going to produce a better result as we get into September and we play an opponent.” 

Marcus Freeman’s point was simple. Start slow, and the season gets a lot harder. Notre Dame learned that in 2025, opening with a 27-24 loss to Miami. The following week, they lost another to Texas A&M, 41-40, after the Aggies scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds left. Both were close games, and Notre Dame spent the remaining season trying to make up for the slow start. To their credit, the Irish responded the way contenders should. 

Notre Dame won its next 10 games, putting itself back into the playoff discussion. But independence cuts both ways. Without a conference championship game to strengthen its resume at the end of the year, the Irish had little room for error once they fell behind. That’s why Marcus Freeman isn’t wasting time arguing with the committee. 

In his view, saying Notre Dame got robbed would have solved nothing. It would’ve been an excuse. Instead, the staff went back through everything. Winter workouts, spring ball, summer prep, and training camp plans. They started asking where they could be better before September arrived.

Now the stakes are even higher. CJ Carr is back. A big chunk of last year’s roster returns, too. Most early projections have Notre Dame right in the national title conversation. Their schedule also appears manageable compared to many other playoff hopefuls, making a fast start even more valuable.

Marcus Freeman has already spoken publicly about bringing another national championship to South Bend someday. But before dreaming about trophies, he’s focused on something much smaller. Don’t fall into another 0-2 hole. Because after last season, he knows there may not be enough time to climb back out again. But maybe this year won’t be like that, as they begin with Wisconsin and Rice.