Freeman on Finishing Drives: We’ve Got to Have a Better Plan

Marcus Freeman didn’t need to be prompted much this week to bring up Notre Dame’s biggest offensive frustration. The Irish continue to move the ball efficiently between the 20s, but too many promising drives have bogged down when the field shrinks.

“We’ve got to be better in short yardage and in goal-line situations,” Freeman said. “Those are things that we’ve been discussing—how do we find a way to truly improve in that area schematically and in execution?”

Through six games, the Irish have found success in spurts but have struggled to finish drives. Penalties, negative plays, and missed conversions have cost Notre Dame valuable points, something Freeman wants corrected immediately.

Freeman Won’t Back Down on Fourth Down

While the execution hasn’t been there, the philosophy won’t change. Freeman emphasized that Notre Dame will continue to stay aggressive in short-yardage situations.

“Going for it on fourth down is something that I have conviction in doing in certain situations,” he said. “Some will be based off maybe our kicker, some’s based off the analytics. But we got to continue to gain conviction in me from our offense.”

Freeman acknowledged the numbers — three conversions in ten tries for the starting unit — but said the issue isn’t the decision-making. “That’s why we spent some time talking about our short-yardage plan and our goal-line situation plan,” he explained. “We have to continue. I don’t want to lose confidence in going for it on fourth down. That’s something I believe in in the right situation. So I don’t want to pull back there. I want to say let’s enhance our plan so that we have a better percentage of converting.”

Under Center? Not So Simple

Freeman was asked if putting sophomore quarterback CJ Carr under center could help in tight spots. His answer: not unless it’s something they commit to every day in practice.

“If we thought going under center in short-yardage situations was the answer, we would do it,” Freeman said. “If we said that’s the reason why we’re not converting, then you’re insane not to work on it and practice it. We don’t believe that’s the reason why we’re not having success as much as we want in those short-yardage situations.”

“It’s a lot easier said than done to say, ‘Hey, go under center, take a snap,’ if you don’t practice it,” he added. “You have to practice that QB-center exchange. Pre-practice snaps, obviously during practice, but pre-practice every day. If you want to go under center, then you better practice it every day.”

Personnel Isn’t the Problem

Freeman also dismissed the idea that the struggles stem from the backfield rotation. While Jeremiyah Love and JD Price have carried most of the load, Gi’Bran Payne and Aneyas Williams have both proven capable in those situations.

“It’s not a shot against Gi’Bran or Aneyas,” Freeman said. “Those guys are fully capable of going in there in short-yardage situations and executing what they’re coached to do. But Jeremiyah Love and JD Price are fully capable of executing what they’re coached to do. It’s not that. It’s that we got to have a better plan. We got to have a better plan offensively in those short-yardage situations—and we will.”

Execution, Not Philosophy

Freeman pointed to specific plays against NC State where Notre Dame failed to capitalize deep in opponent territory. “I look at both fourth-down plays that we had in the game—they probably had a better call defensively than we had offensively,” he said. “We run a sprint out; they had a good defense for that. We tried to run Malachi on a crack-and-go, and they had him covered. We thought they were going to be coming up for the run and tried to get Malachi behind them. They covered him. We got to make it work.”

That “make it work” mantra applies across the board. Whether it’s a red-zone read, a missed block, or a poorly timed penalty, Freeman said the Irish can’t afford to let self-inflicted mistakes kill drives. “We’re going to do everything in our power to scheme things that can help us to have success,” he said. “But at some point you got to make the plays work. And that’s what we got to continue to focus on.”

Cleaning Up the Red Zone

Notre Dame has the talent to move the ball against anyone, but hasn’t consistently finished possessions with touchdowns. The Irish have relied too often on field goals or turnovers on downs — something Freeman called “a reflection of execution and discipline.”

In last week’s win, multiple drives inside the NC State 30-yard line stalled because of penalties and negative plays. “Three of those drives had penalties that we had to punt or we didn’t score,” Freeman said. “A couple false start penalties. We had a holding penalty on JD Price. Those penalties put you behind the sticks, and now it’s hard when you’re playing good college football defenses to be behind the chains.”

The Fix Starts in Practice

Freeman tied all of it — short yardage, red zone, and finishing drives — to preparation. “The answers lie in the work,” he said earlier in the press conference. “It really lies in the game plan, the teaching, the practice, the studying and preparation that our players put into it and then the execution on game days.”

For Freeman, that means refining the plan, simplifying the execution, and trusting his team to deliver when it counts. “We’ll have a better plan,” he said. “And we’ll make it work.”