The stage is set and now Notre Dame fans everywhere can't wait for Jan. 20 to get here. The Fighting Irish took down Penn State in the Orange Bowl and next up is a dance with Ohio State, which took down Texas, for all of the glory.
This is of course amazing news for Marcus Freeman and his players. As for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions? Not so much. With Notre Dame taking care of business against PSU, college football fans across the globe have been dunking on Franklin left and right.
He's an easy target right now, as he continues to drop the ball in big games. Need further proof of that? Not only is Franklin 1-15 in his Penn State career against Top 5 teams, but Freeman has already bested that number of wins... in an eight-day span.
Marcus Freeman has more wins against top 5 teams in the last 8 days than James Franklin has in his entire time at Penn State.
— FrankieV UHND ☘️ (@FrankieV_UHND) January 10, 2025
Marcus Freeman has Notre Dame fans believing a National Championship win is on the way
In the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, Freeman and Notre Dame got the best of No. 2 Georgia. Then of course in the Orange Bowl, ND topped No. 5 Penn State in a thriller. In that win over the Nittany Lions, Mitch Jeter ended up being the hero, drilling a 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left on the clock.
Throughout the week, Freeman looked fired up about getting his guys ready and he sure didn't look happy during some of the press conferences. Indeed, Freeman looked quite displeased over some of the comments Franklin made, especially the ones about his young age. Freeman is 38, while Franklin is 52.
Something James Franklin said at a joint news conference on Wednesday seemed to irk Marcus Freeman: https://t.co/AQWp9Edu4g pic.twitter.com/MULWxVi56W
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 10, 2025
Freeman might have been ticked off early on in the week, but he sure is all smiles now. However, he's going to regroup and get ready for easily the biggest game of his coaching career. Notre Dame will be ready to shock the country, as Ohio State is favored to post a win. As for Franklin, he'll be enjoying that game on the couch from home.