We know how [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] finished the first season with [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] as the head coach: a thrilling, 45-38, [autotag]TaxSlayer Gator Bowl[/autotag] win over [autotag]South Carolina[/autotag]. The victory gave Freeman a 9-4 record in his first full season.
That was enough to impress CBS Sports [autotag]Shehan Jeyarajah[/autotag], who graded each first-year coach’s performance.
Jeyarajah noted Freeman “got off to an inauspicious start” as we all know, but after “winning six of the last seven games” he turned things around. That was good enough for Freeman to earn a B grade, which I believe is completely fair.
Obviously there were games the Irish should really have won, [autotag]Marshall[/autotag] and [autotag]Stanford[/autotag]. But the team didn’t throw in the towel and kept battling. By finishing on a high note, the grade most likely was given a bit of a boost. What letter grade do you think Freeman earned during his first year?
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