There's no question that Marcus Freeman has cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the college ranks. Getting Notre Dame to the title game was a major accomplishment, but unfortunately for him, he ran into Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
For the majority of the National Championship Game, Freeman was outcoached, which was on full display in the third quarter with his team facing 4th down in their own territory. With Ohio State up 28-7 at the time, everyone knew it was a spot for the Irish to run a trick play. Ohio State was clearly prepared for it.
Freeman still rolled the dice, but the ball fell incomplete to give Ohio State the ball back in a prime spot to put more points on the board. While the ND defense was able to keep Ohio State out of the end zone, kicker Jayden Fielding buried a 46-yard field goal to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 31-7. It was a free three points for Ohio State, and it was all on Freeman.
Is that Ryan Day going nuts on the sideline after the fake punt failed pic.twitter.com/qtw0qLWSev
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) January 21, 2025
Marcus Freeman is getting dunked on for a terrible fake punt call vs. Ohio State
With it being 4th-and-2, maybe let Riley Leonard try and run for it or have him throw the ball instead? It was a gutsy call on Freeman's part and it backfired on him. Notre Dame was able to score on its next drive to cut the deficit to 31-15, but you never want to give a team like Ohio State extra help.
Again, Freeman has proven he's a brilliant coach and he was obviously in a rough situation with his team down three scores, looking to create a spark. Still, though, it felt like he was just a bit desperate and people are calling him out for it.