So close, yet so far. Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame thwarted loads of prejudice and consensus wisdom all the way to the finish line. However, they came up short. Losing the National Championship is never quite accompanied by a positive, glass half-full outlook. Yes, the Irish can take solace from reaching that juncture. But once you’re there, it’s requisite you make it count. Notre Dame failed to do that. The excruciating thing is that it fell on its own shortcomings just as much as it did on the strength of the opposition. Irish fans will not want to, but let’s take it right back to that night in the A.

Depending on whether you caught every down, every beat of the Natty. Or if you saw the box score at the end. You’d have very different perspectives on how that game played out and how close Notre Dame was to winning it. The moment that sticks out most is certainly Marcus Freeman’s decision to kick a field goal down a million in the 4th instead of going for it. Followed by the Irish, then missing regardless. However, the game was in many ways lost well before this transpired. Perhaps even before Ohio State scored touchdowns on 4 consecutive drives to score 28 unanswered points.

That very first drive of the game. Man, will Marcus Freeman and the fans want to relive that feeling one more time or what? 9 minutes and 45 seconds of bliss that reverberated hope all across South Bend. That long-drawn, 18-play TD drive was as good as it got for Notre Dame all night. It was almost as if the gold sheen on QB Riley Leonard’s helmet was exuding an extra, halo-like glow. But it turns out the design of that drive actually hampered his and, by extension, Notre Dame’s entire night thereon. Speaking of gold, HOFer Warren Sapp leveraged his discernment of Marcus Freeman and his team’s performance. He reckons it all spiralled out after that first drive.

Warren Sapp, over on Thee Pregame Network YouTube channel, discussed the Natty with host and associate Uncle Neely. “Can we call it a game?” asked Sapp, implying the one-sided nature of affairs for a huge middle-chunk. Neely said, “The score tightened up in the end, but [Notre Dame] were never really in it.” To this, Sapp profusely shook his head side to side in disdain. He proceeded to say, “After they almost killed their quarterback on the first drive!” This was obviously said in jest, as Sapp sprung into laughter following this statement. However, the statement is not as hyperbolic as it seems.

Riley Leonard was seen throwing up at the end of this drive. He was clearly fatigued to a level most humans would not be able to play on. Leonard averages about 15 carries per game. On that drive alone, he ran the ball 8 times. Against Ohio State’s front 7, no less, one of the most physical in the country. He was visibly exhausted before the drive was even over. Sapp said, “To [Riley Leonard’s] credit, he got them in. He punched it in. But boy, he had nothing left in the tank after that.” Sapp hinted at this being an indictment on Freeman’s coaching staff for the play-calling. Notre Dame could just never get anything offensively for a long stretch after this, one of the reasons for which was Leonard’s fatigue. So, in hindsight, what could Marcus Freeman have done?

Warren Sapp is being rational, but Marcus Freeman will not want to hear any of it

For starters, Marcus Freeman doesn’t exactly call offensive plays. He’s a defensive guy, which people often fail to recognize, given his demeanour and charisma on the sidelines. His offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock, is the one culpable for putting Riley Leonard through that ordeal. However, Denbrock’s reputation precedes him. Before coming to South Bend, That 2022 LSU offense, for instance, has his fingerprints all over it. He’s unequivocally one of the best play-callers in the sport and is one of the key reasons why Notre Dame even reached the Natty. So if he’s absolved of blame, is it Riley Leonard himself?

Adrenaline is a heck of a thing. National Championship, opening drive, the eyes of the country on you. It’s by far the most adrenaline-inducing moment of Leonard’s career. Remember, he’s just a college kid, after all. Perhaps he pushed himself more than was required. By the time he reached the red zone, reality had begun creeping in, and his body couldn’t quite cope. Riley Leonard is often trigger-happy when it comes to running the ball for a first down instead of airing it. Maybe he flew too close to the Sun. These are just hypotheticals, though. One thing is definitive.

If you offered Marcus Freeman, Riley Leonard or anyone from South Bend a chance to go 7-0 up, they’d have offered you an arm in exchange. A fatigued QB must’ve felt like a small price to pay at the moment. At that moment, everyone felt that opening drive was a statement of intent. The perpetually misunderstood Warren Sapp is correct in his judgment. However, Marcus Freeman wouldn’t change a thing. He will, though, need to learn from his experience. The ability to take one step back to take two steps forward is what makes a good coach. The lessons learnt will serve him and the program as a collective well. They’d have instead taken the hardware though.