Notre Dame football: Where do the Irish go from here?
By Brad Weiss
![CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Marcus Freeman high-fives Drew Pyne #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after a touchdown drive against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of their game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Notre Dame won 45-32. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Marcus Freeman high-fives Drew Pyne #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after a touchdown drive against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the second half of their game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on September 24, 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Notre Dame won 45-32. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/e7b873e011041745b87acfc78187243f729b4ee37b12f28aa957f88c56807484.jpg)
The Notre Dame football team lost another shocking game this past weekend, begging the question, where do the Irish go from here?
After the loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd, all looked lost for the Notre Dame football team and their 2022 season. In his first season at the helm, Marcus Freeman had a tall task in Week 1 against Ohio State but should have easily beaten Marshall, so when they lost the home opener, it was quite a shock.
Since then, the Irish had been rolling, beating Cal, UNC, and a ranked BYU team before taking on a down Stanford squad in primetime inside Notre Dame Stadium. Inexplicably, the Irish once again lost to a lesser opponent, and now, at 3-3, you have to wonder what is next for the 2022 Irish.
Notre Dame football still has some big games ahead of them
Next up is UNLV, another team on the schedule that the Irish should be able to take care of. However, as we saw last weekend against Stanford, anything is possible with this team, as they can look so good at one point, and then so bad the next.
After UNLV, the Notre Dame football team has more chances to make some statements on the national level. They can seriously impact the College Football Playoff race with some wins over Syracuse, Clemson, or USC, as a win against any of them could knock those programs out of title contention.
In terms of the program, the future is still extremely bright, as they locked down another huge commitment Saturday in running back Jeremiyah Love. That signing brought the Irish back to No. 3 in the country in terms of their 2023 class, and they have a five-star arm in CJ Carr coming in 2024.
This is the first season for Marcus Freeman, so we knew there would be some bumps in the road, so the goal is to just trust the process and move forward. Sure, there could be some tough losses on the horizon the rest of the way, and the Irish could finish close to .500 when all is said and done, but that does not mean the program is not pointing in the right direction.