Notre Dame has more questions than answers after 0-2 start
The Irish excelled on the margins last season. That hasn't been the case in season-opening losses to Miami and Texas A&M.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — You get just 12 guaranteed opportunities, the head coach says over and over again. In theory, that sense of urgency is kicked into overdrive when you’re coming off a loss, when you have an extra week to prepare and when you’re stepping on your home field for the first time in nearly nine months.
Instead, you get a defense that looks even more clueless than it did during its debut on Labor Day weekend. You get an offensive operation that inexplicably snaps the ball on fourth down while its quarterback is walking away from the line. And even the one reliable advantage you have — special teams — finds a way to let you down in the most devastating fashion imaginable.
Notre Dame fell to Texas A&M, 41-40. The Irish are 0-2. Much like last year after his team’s second game, Marcus Freeman now finds himself forced to coach do-or-die football for the final 10 games of the season.
He passed the test last year. The schedule may have had something to do with that. So, too, did the abundance of fifth- and sixth-year leaders Freeman could lean on. It also didn’t hurt that Notre Dame wasn’t necessarily beaten by Northern Illinois in last year’s home opener and that it just beat itself, unlike what happened here on Saturday night.
The motto back then was simple: Play better football — play Notre Dame football — and Notre Dame would likely win each of its remaining games and make the College Football Playoff.
Now? The question is what exactly is Notre Dame football, never mind if Playoff dreams even remain feasible or not.