Marcus Freeman stood at the podium Saturday night satisfied but not complacent. Notre Dame’s 36–7 win over NC State marked its fourth straight victory and another dominant defensive showing. Although, the head coach’s tone never wavered from discipline and process.
“It’s obviously good to get up here after a victory,” Freeman said. “But it wasn’t perfect. There’s plays and situations we have to clean up if we want to truly reach our full potential.”
That perfectionist streak defines Notre Dame’s October rise. The Irish have now held opponents scoreless in eight of the last ten quarters, forcing three turnovers and a safety against the Wolfpack. Adon Shuler, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa , and Karson Hobbs each picked off passes as the Irish front applied steady pressure throughout the night.
Offensively, freshman quarterback CJ Carr continued to flash confidence, completing 19 of 31 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremiyah Love paced the ground attack with 86 yards and two scores, while Will Pauling and Eli Raridon combined for 214 receiving yards.
Still, Freeman wasn’t letting the box score mask the flaws. “It’s not the fourth-down plays, it’s the plays leading up to that,” he said. “You can’t put yourself behind the sticks. We have to eliminate that with urgency.”
A pivotal moment came early in the second half when Tyler Buchner’s fake punt extended a drive. Freeman said conviction from practice led to the call: “We needed a plug, and I thought, go run it. Credit to Coach Biagi and the players for the work they put in.”
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Freeman credited defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his players for responding to early-season struggles. “You double down, you fix it, you have uncomfortable conversations and you work tirelessly,” he said. “This is our defense. This is ours.”
Then came the line that summed up his message to the locker room: “My message was simple stop beating Notre Dame.”