Marshall shocked No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21 on Saturday, making Marcus Freeman the first Fighting Irish head coach to lose his first three games at the school. Not even Gerry Faust did that in the early 1980s.
Freeman entered Saturday with an 0-2 record, and that moved to 0-3 after the loss against Marshall. Fighting Irish quarterbacks Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne, both four-star prospects, combined to throw three interceptions as the Thundering Herd scored a stunning win as a nearly three-touchdown underdog.
As you might expect, Fighting Irish Wire editor Nick Shepkowski pulled no punches after the mind-blowing turn of events:
“An anemic offense that struggles to do the littlest of things right,” Shepkowski wrote. “You can question play-calling, but when presented an opportunity the Irish suffered through a case of the drops, overthrown receivers and entirely missed open receivers.
“It was one thing a week ago when Ohio State’s offensive line gassed Notre Dame’s defense and was able to run at will in the fourth quarter. It was an entirely different thing when Marshall did the same on Saturday.”
Wait…Notre Dame is a fraudulent football program for the eleventy seventh year in a row? WHO WOULDVE THOUGHT https://t.co/kmLJrTJmD4
— Austin Riley’s Rakes™️ (@RileysRakes) September 10, 2022
No Notre Dame running back gained more than 50 yards. Buchner was 18-of-32 passing for 201 yards with two interceptions.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and Marcus Freeman have struggled putting a clean game plan together. They had trouble with Ohio State last week. They just haven’t been able to find a new running back or a high-end quarterback.
Notre Dame football pic.twitter.com/gpoaQciXza
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) September 10, 2022
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