Notre Dame’s season was a fairytale run! They battled their way to a 14-2 record and a national championship appearance—their first since 2012—under the steady hand of Marcus Freeman. They took down giants like Penn State, Georgia, and Indiana en route to the CFP title game, where they eventually fell to Ohio State. Freeman’s brilliance didn’t go unnoticed; he snagged the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches College Coach of the Year award, becoming the first Black Asian head coach to lead a team in national title contention. And now, this historymaker is all set to see Notre Dame rewrite its legacy.

Monday was a day for the history books at Notre Dame, and Marcus Freeman had a front-row seat. As the women’s basketball team achieved a historic milestone, Coach Freeman was right there in the crowd. Sabrina Hoover, a sports anchor, captured the moment perfectly, tweeting, “Marcus Freeman is in attendance tonight to watch the top-ranked team in the country.” But the history? Notre Dame soared to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll—claiming the top spot for the first time since 2019. As of now, a monumental night for the Fighting Irish, witnessed by a coach who knows a thing or two about making history.

Notre Dame took over the No. 1 spot after UCLA stumbled in a 71-60 loss to rival USC last week. But now they’re back. And head coach Niele Ivey is keeping her team locked in. “It’s definitely an honor to be the nation’s top team, but we are just focused on getting better every day,” she said. So, with history on their side and a championship mindset, the Fighting Irish are ready to show they’re in the upper echelon.

While Notre Dame’s basketball team is rising to the top, the football squad is gearing up for what could be a historic run of their own. Marcus Freeman, fresh off a stellar 33-10 record in his first five years as head coach, is ready to lead the charge. His journey to the top started back in 2010 as a graduate assistant, with stops at places like Purdue, Cincinnati, and Ohio State before he took over as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021. Now, it’s his chance to build a team that makes its own mark on Notre Dame’s storied legacy. And things just got really interesting thanks to Josh Pate’s bold projection about the team’s future. Pate’s take has everyone talking, adding a whole new level of excitement to what’s to come.

Josh Pate’s assessment of Marcus Freeman

A few months ago, a thought-provoking question came from Illinois-based Chris Morris. He asked, “Was this the best season we’ll see from Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman? It’s hard to see them getting the path to another title game anytime soon.” To be honest, it’s a question that captures the uncertainty about the future, leaving fans wondering if this season was the peak or just the beginning of something bigger for the Fighting Irish.

And here comes Josh Pate with his College Football Show episode 609, breaking down the future of the Dame. He wasted no time firing back at Chris’s comment, saying, “I disagree with this, but I know where you’re coming from, so I don’t think the logic holds anymore. But I had this logic for a long time, and I got to be honest with you, the mold kind of got broken this past year.” Safe to say, Pate’s take is a bold shift in perspective, signaling that Notre Dame’s future may be brighter than many think.

Josh Pate didn’t just dip his toes into the Notre Dame discussion—he dove headfirst. He admitted he used to be a skeptic, believing Notre Dame’s championship window had slammed shut. “Notre Dame’s opportunity to compete for a national championship was in the past. That’s how a lot of folks felt. That’s how I felt,” he confessed. He pointed to talent acquisition, where the best players were going, and past playoff results as evidence. But Pate’s tune has changed dramatically.

He argues that college football’s landscape has been completely reshaped. “The mold of college football broke,” he declared, suggesting that the old system had left Notre Dame behind. Now, with more balanced rosters, top-10 recruiting, and a strong culture under Freeman, Pate sees a different future. He believes Notre Dame ‘can and will compete for and win a National Championship,’ even suggesting they haven’t reached their peak yet. “I wouldn’t go as far as to even say this past year’s team is definitively the best team Marcus Freeman will have. I think you’ll have more talented teams coming up now,” said Pate. So, the future is bright for Notre Dame and Freeman’s best may still be ahead of him.