Josh Pate’s clearest takeaway on Marcus Freeman was simple: “I think he’s a top five head coach currently,” and he said he could “easily” see Freeman being viewed as No. 1 in the country in the near future. Pate said Notre Dame has “all the ingredients” needed to win a national title and is “certainly headed in the right direction,” crediting Freeman for taking a program that was already winning at a high level and raising the standard even further.
Why He Believes Notre Dame Is Built to Win
Pate also pointed to Freeman’s response to last season’s playoff miss as a big reason for that confidence. He highlighted Freeman’s message about ownership, with Freeman saying, “You can’t leave it in their hands,” and that Notre Dame had to “own” how last year ended instead of blaming the committee. Pate added that Freeman is fully invested in Notre Dame and that the school has also adjusted in meaningful ways, especially around admissions and the academic calendar, to better support winning at the highest level.
- Pate said Freeman was “the right guy they needed at the right time” after Brian Kelly’s departure.
- He noted Freeman survived some early “inexplicable games,” but said, “No one even talks about this stuff anymore.”
- Pate said he could “easily see him winning a national title this year.”
- He also called this “a whole new frontier” for Notre Dame because both the sport and the school have changed in ways that help the program.
- Pate’s bottom line: “I don’t know in my lifetime that there’s ever been a better period to be a Notre Dame fan over the next five years than where we sit right now.”
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