SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman learned the hard lessons from all those big losses as well as the inexplicable ones.
On Friday night, in the first game of the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff, he celebrated the most significant victory of his career — in Notre Dame Stadium with snowflakes flying and players singing the school’s alma mater.
Jeremiyah Love tied a program record with a 98-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game, quarterback Riley Leonard accounted for two more scores, and the Fighting Irish held high-scoring Indiana in check in their first-round matchup, giving seventh-seeded Notre Dame its first-ever CFP victory, 27-17 over the 10th-seeded Hoosiers.
“There’s not many times in your life that you’re the first to do something, right?” Freeman said. “We’re the first group to play and win a playoff game at Notre Dame Stadium, so that’s something we’ll share for the rest of our lives.”
Freeman and the Fighting Irish (12-1) have at least a day or two to savor their 11th consecutive victory to tie the program record for single-season wins, and doing it with their playoff breakthrough only adds to the accolade. The CFP was a four-team event from its inception in 2014 through last season, and the Irish — college football’s most powerful independent program — were semifinal losers in both of their appearances (2018, 2020) under that format.