Marcus Freeman Refuses To Make Excuses For College Football Playoff Snub, Wants To 'Leave No Doubt'

The end to the 2025-2026 college football season was a tremendous disappointment for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman. 

Notre Dame lost their first two games of the season to very good teams in Texas A&M and the Miami Hurricanes. They went on to win 10 in a row, mostly in dominant fashion, including an impressive win over a quality USC Trojans team in South Bend. But the Irish were left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff field, despite a deserving resume, in favor of SEC runner-up Alabama Crimson Tide, a mediocre team that made the tournament only because of their conference affiliation. 

The Irish then handled the fallout about as poorly as they could have, essentially throwing a tantrum and allowing upset players to decide against playing in a bowl game. 

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Freeman opened up about it in a new interview with On3's J.D. Pickell, saying he wants his team to avoid blaming anyone else for not getting into the playoff.

Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman. (Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Marcus Freeman Says Notre Dame Shouldn't ‘Waste’ Opportunity

Pickell asked Freeman how he handles addressing the disappointment of missing the playoff, while still preparing a new group of players and new team for the 2026-2027 season. 

"Yeah, I think the way we use that is to not waste it, right? To not just blame somebody else for the situation that we were in," Freeman said. "And I believe you sleep in a bed you make, you know, God is fair, right. And we were left out. We left out, so don't blame somebody else for this situation that we were in.

"Know that, hey, we've got to remember that as we continue to prepare for this year, you know, there are certain times you pull that out, you remind them of the pain of that situation in that moment. But it's just a reminder to hey, that we have to leave no doubt in order to do that. You've got to leave no doubt today. You have to leave no doubt in this moment that you're doing the necessary things to be the best version of yourself."

You can see why Marcus Freeman is such a successful coach and top-tier recruiter. That's exactly the attitude you'd want to see in a coach and in a leader. Yes, it was unfair and wrong that Notre Dame did not make the playoff. But it's up to this group of players, the new roster, to ensure that they're good enough to take that decision out of the committee's, and Greg Sankey's, hands.

Freeman said that he believes if you "choose to struggle, no matter if it's mentally, physically," you'll improve. His philosophy is "win these moments that you have right in front" of you. 

That said, Notre Dame has one of the easiest schedules of any major program in the country, particularly after they were not able to agree with SC to continue their rivalry in Los Angeles. 

• Wisconsin in Green Bay
• Rice in South Bend
• Michigan State in South Bend
• at Purdue
• at North Carolina
• Stanford in South Bend
• at BYU
• at Navy
• Miami in South Bend
• Boston College in South Bend
• SMU in South Bend
• at Syracuse

Winning the moment in front of them won't be too tough here. Leaving no doubt won't be either. Still, you have to respect how Freeman handles disappointment. It's just odd that his players didn't choose to do the same when given the opportunity to play one more time in a bowl game. Even if it wasn't the one they wanted.