Notre Dame football: Breaking down Marcus Freeman’s key decisions in the Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame football: Breaking down Marcus Freeman’s key decisions in the Fiesta Bowl
General Gameplanning
Those in-game decisions are key for a head coach, and they’re something that many head coaches are judged on throughout their careers. However, preparation and gameplan are also key to how a team performs on game day. Here are a few things to think about that Freeman also brought to the table in the game plan.
Starting Two Freshmen Tackles
Between injuries and other developmental issues, Notre Dame has had to play a variety of players on their offensive line this season, to different levels of success. Marcus Freeman decided to start two freshmen in this game. They missed a couple of blocks but were solid for the most part during the game. Importantly, this was a key experience for them going forward and a glimpse into Notre Dame’s future on the offensive line.
Tyler Buchner Was A No-Show
Marcus Freeman and Tommy Rees decided not to use Tyler Buchner for a single play of the Fiesta Bowl. With the running game ineffective, bringing him in to run-read option may have made sense to give a different look. Instead, they stuck with Jack Coan through the good and the bad. This means they felt consistency at quarterback was the best way to win. Still, this was a departure from the regular season.
Mike Elston Called Plays
Some coaches like to call plays on whatever side of the ball they got their start on. For instance, Josh Heupel at Tennessee is effectively his own offensive coordinator. Freeman didn’t do this with his defense, though, letting Mike Elston call the plays instead. That is, seemingly, until crunch time in the 4th quarter when Freeman took over again.
Tommy Rees Opened Up the Playbook
It seems like Freeman is going to be more open to letting Tommy Rees be aggressive as a play-caller. The Irish took shots downfield early and often against Oklahoma State. For the most part, they were effective too. Once the running game proved to be stuck in the mud, Freeman was fine letting Rees abandon it. This may have been a slight miscalculation in the second half, as the Cowboys fell back into coverage and consistently forced 3rd and long situations. Even with that, the offense was mostly effective behind a more aggressive game plan.
Halftime Adjustments
Make no mistake, Mike Gundy made much better halftime adjustments than Marcus Freeman. The Cowboys found ways to exploit Notre Dame, by using their aggression against them. They also used QB draws against blitzing linebackers and linebackers in man coverage to gain chunk plays. Freeman, on the other hand, seemed to stick with more of the same, and it was a glaring weakness, losing the 3rd quarter 17-0.