Notre Dame fans tickled by idea Marcus Freeman cursed the Nittany Lions

Notre Dame and Penn State had never really been rivals on the field before the College Football Playoffs last year. Michigan, USC, Stanford, Michigan State, and even Clemson draw the ire of Fighting Irish fans historically. However, after Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin seemed to disrespect Marcus Freeman during the lead-up to their contest, the PSU coach is one of the most disliked in the sport by the fanbase.

The hatred of Franklin boiled over online a bit since Penn State fired him on Sunday. On Monday, it turned into less hate and more humor as Irish fans began noting that it really does seem like there might be some Marcus Freeman curse on James Franklin since the two coaches crossed paths.

Notre Dame football fans enjoying the Marcus Freeman curse on the Nittany Lions

The start of this curse was obviously when Notre Dame beat Penn State in the playoffs as the Irish marched to the National Championship game. Since then, Freeman hired running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider from the Nittany Lions this winter. Then they went after several commits to State College. As ND gets set to host 5-star running back Kemon Spell this weekend, the curse extends to Happy Valley in general.

One fan pointed out that during ESPN College GameDay, Nittany Lions fans chanted "overrated" while the hosts were interviewing Freeman. One Irish fan noted PSU is 0-3 since that happened.

More than a few other fans noted that Franklin was just 3-4 after he seemed to "little brother" Marcus Freeman during their joint press conference last winter.

The idea that the curse was put in place after that press conference is widespread.

There are also plenty of Notre Dame fans who think there's legitimately no love lost between the two coaches. And while the Fighting Irish head man would never take any joy from someone losing their job, these are not two guys who are remotely close personally.

With there being a few analysts here and there that think Marcus Freeman might be the replacement for James Franklin, when he doesn't leave the Notre Dame football program for the Nittany Lions, it could essentially extend the curse further.