Marcus Freeman still has not mastered the most underrated part of being a college football coach at a blue-blood school: Beat the teams you're supposed to beat.
The Notre Dame coach can now add a stunning home loss Saturday to 28-point underdog Northern Illinois to a resume that already includes being upset at home by Marshall and a Stanford team that was in the midst of a 3-9 season back in 2022.
"We've been here before," Freeman told reporters.
Sort of. This one is far worse.
This is Year 3 of Freeman leading the Fighting Irish. He's still a young coach at 38 years old, but inexperienced isn't an excuse anymore. Neither for Freeman nor his team.
