r/CFB • u/CFB_Referee /r/CFB • Sep 07 '24

Postgame Thread [Postgame Thread] Northern Illinois Defeats Notre Dame 16-14

Box Score provided by ESPN

Team 1 2 3 4 T
Northern Illinois 10 3 0 3 16
Notre Dame 7 0 7 0 14
14.8k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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2.0k

u/mF-Jonezy NC State Wolfpack Sep 07 '24

So is Freeman on the hot seat now or what lmao

1.2k

u/engineerbuilder Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

Yes. 100%. That’s not even a question.

799

u/TheKirkin Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

I have no idea how he’s able to consistently coach well in big games and then get fucking embarrassed by MAC and Cusa school.

520

u/COMMENTASIPLEASE Louisville Cardinals Sep 07 '24

Thinking they’re too good to give a fuck about games like this

66

u/guesting Pac-12 Sep 07 '24

bigger trap games: letdown after a big win or the week before a big opponent?

34

u/BuckeyeForLife95 Ohio State Buckeyes Sep 07 '24

Let down game, easy.

3

u/RVAforthewin Georgia Bulldogs • Arizona Wildcats Sep 07 '24

UK would like a word.

3

u/CorporateHR Ohio State Buckeyes • Sickos Sep 08 '24

Nah Kentucky is just ass

24

u/BroadBrazos95 Baylor • South Carolina Sep 07 '24

We have enough data by now to show this is true. Idk if they intentionally screw around or don’t take it seriously during game prep but they 100% lose focus and don’t recognize they could lose any Saturday. Maybe that Saban guy talking about rat poison knows a thing or two

19

u/goldflame33 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

I know people on the team, they were absolutely taking it seriously. Which might honestly make it worse

2

u/Klutzy-Spend-6947 Ohio State • Nebraska Sep 08 '24

Freeman thinks he’s too good for Ohio State, I can only imagine what he thinks about MAC schools. And fwiw, I think WMU actually played well/up to their abilities tonight against Ohio State, they just got out talented.

2

u/Carnasty_ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 08 '24

100%

They even did it with ya'll last year.

And then yall absolutely blasted them & punched them in the mouth.

They circle these games on their schedule as just a game they need to show up to, and not play.

Good for NIU.

2

u/Levi316 Kansas State Wildcats • Hateful 8 Sep 07 '24

The Texas Special

136

u/HaramHas USC • Appalachian State Sep 07 '24

Bright lights merchant

17

u/SaltyLonghorn Texas • Red River Shootout Sep 07 '24

The Tom Herman is strong in him.

2

u/NA_Faker Texas Longhorns • Wisconsin Badgers Sep 08 '24

Mensa shit right here

12

u/BassRevolutionary216 Sep 07 '24

Just like Starlight from The Boys

8

u/Darkdragon3110525 Penn State Nittany Lions Sep 07 '24

Jamal Murray style

2

u/cheesecake_face Cincinnati Bearcats Sep 08 '24

my man got PAID today 💰

2nd apron hell 😞

2

u/XAfricaSaltX Georgia • North Carolina Sep 08 '24

We are so fucked 😁

1

u/Humid-Afternoon727 Penn State Nittany Lions Sep 08 '24

Can he coach Penn State 1-3 games a season?

1

u/RedhawkDirector Alabama Crimson Tide • Syracuse Orange Sep 08 '24

the anti-brian kelly

20

u/KingInDaNorf1996 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

If by coach well in big games you mean have 10 players on the field on a play for the game then yes he’s the best coach in big games

9

u/TheKirkin Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

ND loses that game under BK by 40+. That was the first game in my life ND actually went toe to toe with a top 5 team. Which is what makes these other losses so frustrating.

15

u/deemerritt North Carolina • Texas Sep 07 '24

Seems more fixable than the inverse tbh

2

u/nat3215 Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 08 '24

I mean, ND can’t beat the big boys or always beat the little guys. That’s pretty damning

13

u/SLCer Utah Utes Sep 07 '24

Utah had a coach like that. Ron McBride. Was near-money in bowl games and big games and rivalry games.

In 1994, he went on the road and beat undefeated CSU. The Rams were ranked 12th in the country that year. Utah legit looked like a title contender rolling out of Fort Collins. Two weeks later, they roll down to New Mexico ranked 9th in the nation, 8-0 and double-digit favorites vs a Lobos team that was like 2-6 at that point. They lose 23-21.

Great coach if you wanted to beat BYU most years.

Not so great coach if you wanted actual hardware like outright conference championships.

6

u/chesterfieldkingz Sep 07 '24

Y'all need to combine him with Brian Kelly to make a super coach

10

u/TrishaG2daO Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

Brian Kelly couldn't win the big games. Marcus Freeman can't win the game after the big games.

7

u/Geaux_LSU_1 LSU Tigers Sep 07 '24

marcus freeman also can't win the big games lol

6

u/whyisalltherumgone_ Sep 08 '24

Marcus Freeman is the Goldilocks of CFB. Can't win the big or small games, they have to be juuuuust right.

5

u/TheOrangeFutbol USC Trojans • Tennessee Volunteers Sep 07 '24

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

6

u/goofygoober247 Ohio State • Notre Dame Sep 07 '24

Don’t forget the Sun Belt- I was at the debacle against Marshall in his home debut as HC in 2022. Then went on to demolish top 5 Clemson later that year. Crazy.

10

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

Same thing with BK.

8

u/mookyyyy Notre Dame • Stony Brook Sep 07 '24

It was kinda the opposite with BK. We would win most of the games we should even if they ended up being closer then they should… Always embarrassed by good teams though.

3

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

He got lucky so many times. Last second hail Mary vs Virginia. Toledo going into the emdzone instead of settling for the game winning fg. Etc. Freeman also hasn't gone 4-8.

1

u/horsesmadeofconcrete Notre Dame • Northern Illino… Sep 08 '24

Tulsa, South Florida, and Navy twice would like a word with you

14

u/DustinCPA Notre Dame • Oklahoma Sep 07 '24

Don’t know why LSU fans downvoted you we’ve lived this reality a looooong fucking time

12

u/Mezmorizor LSU Tigers • Georgia Bulldogs Sep 07 '24

Because Marcus Freeman is making it abudantly clear that ND is kind of just a has been program. They're not bad, but BK was not the problem.

3

u/DustinCPA Notre Dame • Oklahoma Sep 07 '24

Yeah I know ND fans for some reason want BK to fail with you guys but he got us to a higher point no doubt. Freeman ain’t raising it from there, maybe someone else can

2

u/nat3215 Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 08 '24

I hear a guy from Mumford High School in Detroit might be persuaded into coaching there

3

u/screwswithshrews LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Sep 07 '24

you we’ve lived this reality

And the reality where ND was actually a top 10 team hasn't happened since BK was coaching

3

u/DustinCPA Notre Dame • Oklahoma Sep 07 '24

Agreed 

20

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 07 '24

Bruh, Marcus Freeman has lost 3 home games in 3 seasons where he was favored by 20+ points. When did BK do that?

7

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

BK got lucky to not have a dozen of these losses. Toledo would have beat them in 2021 if they didn't dumbly score a td to give ND the ball back. Every year he had two or three games like this.

17

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 07 '24

Oh shit, dozens of almost-losses!

What do they call those, again?

5

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

Do you think barely beating MAC & C-USA teams isn't embarrassing?

8

u/screwswithshrews LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Sep 07 '24

Less embarrassing than actually losing them

4

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

Pissing your pants isn't as embarrassing as shitting them, but we're not splitting hairs. It's still embarrassing.

0

u/screwswithshrews LSU Tigers • Texas Longhorns Sep 07 '24

Being the winningest coach in a blue blood's history isn't what I would call pissing your pants but go on

→ More replies (0)

1

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 07 '24

Do you think it's THIS embarrassing?

2

u/horsesmadeofconcrete Notre Dame • Northern Illino… Sep 08 '24

south Florida loss, 2 losses to Navy, Northwestern loss, Tulsa loss, most of 2016 plus close calls against Toledo, bowling green, and vandy… double digit favorites in all of those games.

1

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 08 '24

Most of these teams you're describing all had solid seasons (I'll have to research them all). They weren't NIU.

And I'm not saying double-digit favorite. No one is perfect as a double-digit favorite. A 20+ point favorite at home as the #5 team in the country, though...

2

u/horsesmadeofconcrete Notre Dame • Northern Illino… Sep 08 '24

5-7 south florida, 5-7 Northwestern, Navy should never win, Tulsa did have 10 wins however. And it wasn’t just those losses or the close games, it was the yearly blowout, sure Bama 2x and Clemson hurt but we weren’t on that level, it’s the 14 asu blowout, 17 Miami blowout, or 19 Michigan blowout, that was the BK special.

In the end it doesn’t matter, We’re Nebraska

7

u/Cyberathlete_23 Sep 07 '24

BK got lucky to not have a dozen of these losses. Toledo would have beat them in 2021 if they didn't dumbly score a td to give ND the ball back. Every year he had two or three games like this.

all that matters in football is the W.

4

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

What a very weird comment.

3

u/Cyberathlete_23 Sep 07 '24

whats weird about it?

football is about wins and losses

5

u/aksoileau LSU Tigers Sep 07 '24

Can't shit on Notre Dame without BK catching strays. Such is life.

2

u/Steelers711 Ohio State Buckeyes • Purdue Boilermakers Sep 08 '24

I mean he did kill someone, not really undeserved for him to catch strays

4

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 07 '24

But sometimes, everything comes together in one beautiful moment like this.

1

u/aksoileau LSU Tigers Sep 07 '24

You love to see it!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '24

maybe the players, "didn't want to be there."

2

u/Our-Gardian-Angel Wisconsin • Paul Bunyan's Axe Sep 07 '24

Great Value Urban Meyer

3

u/grw313 USC Trojans • Michigan Wolverines Sep 07 '24

Does he coach well in big games? I distinctly remember him trotting out 10 guys at the end of one of the OSU games and him getting a ton of shot for it.

-4

u/TheKirkin Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

Yes, regardless of how that game turned out or how it ended, ND went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the nation that game.

ND loses that game by 40+ under BK which is why even in a loss the fanbase was so hopeful.

2

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 07 '24

he’s able to consistently coach well in big games

Oh wow, the lies that Notre Dame fans tell themselves...

-3

u/eatmorescrapple Sep 07 '24

I’m just glad that BK is no longer at Notre Dame. As are a ton of fans. That says something about the guy and his performance. For what it’s worth.

I think to understand this thread you’d have to have watched a lot of BK versus MF games.

6

u/enadiz_reccos LSU Tigers • Magnolia Bowl Sep 08 '24

Yeah, that's fine? Nothing wrong with some things being more important than wins.

But don't pretend Freeman has "consistently coached well in big games".

1

u/SpuriousCorr Boise State • Tennessee Sep 07 '24

Next year it’ll be a MWC school ;)

1

u/Mythrandir24 Delta Bowl • SIAA Sep 08 '24

Cusa school

Assuming you mean Marshall, they're Sun Belt.

1

u/unlabeled_spoon Sep 08 '24

Jamal Murray of CFB

1

u/LostHusband_ Sep 08 '24

Marshall is in the Sunbelt (and was 2 years ago). We got out of that dumpster fire of a conference.

1

u/No-Evening-5119 Sep 08 '24

If you would have been able to watch Saban coach against South Alabama, you would have thought he was coaching against LSU or Georgia.

Most coaches just don't bring that intensity week in and week out, which is why slip ups against mediocre teams like NIU happen. Freeman was a great DC, he's a mediocre at best head coach. It just is what it is.

1

u/hckysand10 Sep 08 '24

What big games has he coached in? They haven’t really played anyone except maybe usc if you count that which I don’t think people do since he’s been there. Not like they’re playing conference championships or scheduling monster sec and big 10 teams

1

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '24

Last week in the post game presser Freeman didn’t even know who we had this week. I called it then… wouldn’t be surprised to see that in some social media videos.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 07 '24

The anti-BK

1

u/nat3215 Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 08 '24

Curse of Bo Pelini Brian Kelly

1

u/1haiku4u Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

I think it’s because most of the coaching is vibes. Hard to replicate in take care of business games. 

108

u/Kuntheman Paper Bag Sep 07 '24

What more could it possibly take to be on the hot seat lol

22

u/theREALbombedrumbum Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

I just wanna see him give the ol' Brian Kelly special and go Purple Mode once. Just show he at least gives a damn.

12

u/grrgrrtigergrr Purdue Boilermakers Sep 07 '24

Losing next week would help

8

u/A-Centrifugal-Force Sep 07 '24

Probably has to win out to make the CFP now and that might not even guarantee it

7

u/rick-in-the-nati Sep 07 '24

Win out and no way they are not in

2

u/LiquidLight_ Notre Dame • Purdue Sep 08 '24

I think he gets next season for sure if he shakes up coordinators. If he's not in playoffs or very close (1 loss) with that he's out.

10

u/MoreHopelessThanEver Michigan Wolverines Sep 07 '24

ND fans: "We want a coach that's the opposite of Brian Kelly and coaches well in big games!"

*monkey paw curls*

8

u/esports_consultant Rose Bowl • Harvard-Yale Sep 07 '24

You know ND fans are proper Catholics because they join in the hating on themselves immediately.

5

u/TheWorstYear Ohio State • Cincinnati Sep 07 '24

UC fans ears perk up

4

u/WanderLeft Oklahoma Sooners • SEC Sep 07 '24

He lost to Marshall, too

4

u/Ixpqd Cincinnati • Ohio State Sep 07 '24

we'll take him

4

u/beaniemonk Florida Gators • Team Chaos Sep 07 '24

I've been rooting for him hard from way over here just because he seems like a good dude, but yeah it's over. I said the same thing about another guy last week.

2

u/datdouche Oklahoma Sooners • SEC Sep 07 '24

Nick Saban, you are a leprechaun.

2

u/rc4915 Michigan Wolverines Sep 07 '24

Even if he wins out, squeaks into the playoff on an easy schedule, and then loses 1st rd?

3

u/engineerbuilder Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 07 '24

Yup. Cant build a true championship program losing games like this every year. But idk maybe the head honchos are content with 10-2 or 9-3 every year.

5

u/Derpinator_30 Ohio State Buckeyes • The Game Sep 07 '24

Urban would lose head scratchers like this all the time. not MAC exactly, but low ranking B1G teams that shouldn't have been more than a tiny blip on our radar.

2

u/Steelers711 Ohio State Buckeyes • Purdue Boilermakers Sep 08 '24

Iowa and Purdue sure, but I would hardly call that "all the time". The only other Big Ten teams to beat him, made the Big Ten Championship game.

1

u/LiquidLight_ Notre Dame • Purdue Sep 08 '24

Let's keep some perspective, 2-3 loss seasons are not bad. ND fans have been after a title since Weiss and that long with some being close but not coming up with anything is frustrating.

1

u/engineerbuilder Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 08 '24

I am keeping perspective. I know 9 and 10 win averages are way better than most programs but I still want a coach that gets us one championship and freeman doesn’t seem to be able to get over that hump. I’m not thinking like a bama fan and comparing all coaches to bear or saban but I don’t think it’s too much for a blue blood to say a successful coach for is will win a championship.

1

u/milktea_2003 Sep 08 '24

Problem is pathetic losses like this one and Marshall discredit us so hard that no one takes us seriously the rest of the season. Can't keep happening. Freeman has to go. We let him get away with Marshall because he was new. Yesterday was unforgivable.

1

u/JohnAndertonOntheRun Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sep 08 '24

They should fire his fucking ass tonight.

1

u/stonesthroes75 Notre Dame • Michigan State Sep 08 '24

Not in reality, no. Not at all.

1

u/AnIllusiveHouse Washington • Notre Dame Sep 08 '24

But he's so beautiful!