Marcus Freeman’s first two seasons as Notre Dame’s head coach were spent chasing the College Football Playoff dream.
This year, he’s finally living it — and at home.
After closing the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and getting two weeks to prepare for the most meaningful postseason game of his career, Freeman is finally ready to lead the seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (11-1) against 10th-seeded Indiana (11-1) into the first game of the first round of the first 12-team edition of the CFP.
Notre Dame hosts the Hoosiers in a matchup of in-state opponents at 8 p.m. Friday in South Bend, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 seed Georgia (11-2) in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal on Jan. 1 in New Orleans.
“We’ve been in the playoffs since week three,” Freeman said, alluding to his team’s postseason hopes after a stunning 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois — a Mid-American Conference program that dropped four of its next six games after beating the Irish — on Sept. 7 in South Bend.