Notre Dame opened its 2025 season with a close, 27-24 loss on the road to No. 10 Miami. The Fighting Irish fell behind 21-7 heading into the fourth quarter, and then came back to tie the game.
However, after scoring the game-tying touchdown with just over three minutes left in the game, Miami drove down for a field goal to take the lead with just over one minute remaining.
The Fighting Irish couldn't respond and the Hurricanes held on for the season-opening victory. Although Notre Dame lost the game, head coach Marcus Freeman delivered a postgame speech that has the fanbase ready to run through a brick wall to support his Fighting Irish.
Marcus Freeman's Postgame Speech Will Have You Fired Up
Notre Dame Football posted Freeman's speech on social media, and here is the original video and transcript.
"I don’t care if you didn’t play a snap or you played every down. I don’t care if you're a coordinator, if you’re a position coach, or if you're a [graduate assistant], it doesn’t matter. Everybody points the finger at themselves and say, ‘What could we have done to make sure that we achieved the outcome that we want?’ And that’s what we’ll do, right? Stay together.
“We got the best leadership. And this is when leadership has to show, right? Keep us together. We gotta go to work. I’m not saying continue to do the same. We gotta find different ways and better ways of doing it. We can’t beat Notre Dame. And we know there was plays in that game where we beat Notre Dame.
Back to work.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 1, 2025
Stay together ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/H3rZOkoSLE
“Credit to them. It’s a good team, top 10 battle. We lost by three. Okay, we lost by three. The first game of the season, right? We got a good ball team. I sat there and watched—I said, ‘Okay, we had to go through a little bit of the bumps in the road, but we got a good ball team, but we gotta get back to work.’ Right? This taste of pain, it hurts. The embarrassment. Okay. We gotta use this as we go back to work. We’re gonna go back to work, right? Stay together, man.”
With Notre Dame's loss to No. 10 Miami, the Fighting Irish likely need to win out to make the College Football Playoffs. Being an Independent school, Notre Dame would have to earn an at-large bid into the playoffs.
However, after Freeman's speech, he has fans believing in the future of the 2025 season.
Would follow him to the gates of hell. https://t.co/CqiM3QtWuB
— Dougie Sant (@dougiesant) September 1, 2025
WE needed to hear this. https://t.co/KHtfce1Ey4
— CathVSConf☘️ (@CathVSConf) September 1, 2025
He’s such a great leader☘️ https://t.co/2ZDDwTjTif
— Elisha Nichols (@ElishaNichols) September 1, 2025
This is the right coach for Notre Dame Football. ☘️☘️
— Luke Clark-Hampleman (@LHampleman) September 2, 2025
Remember Brian Kelly tirades post loss? This guy leads by example. #GoIrish https://t.co/udDa4Xo9I6
Hate how much I like him lmao https://t.co/vOgcM6xQl1
— Mike (@MikeSanchize) September 2, 2025
Whether it's Fighting Irish fans backing their team and head coach, or Freeman earning critics' respect, his speech touched almost everyone who heard it.
Notre Dame has a chance to bounce back on Saturday, Sept. 13 against Texas A&M in its home-opener.