UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 19, 2026

Marcus Freeman

Press Conference

Notre Dame - 27, Michigan State - 10

MARCUS FREEMAN: Look, it was -- it wasn't perfect, as everybody saw, but it was a good victory and a hard fought victory. Those are the type of victories that you're going to have to win and find a way to win.

They responded to being challenged at halftime a little bit. I just didn't think we were playing clean. And you know there's plays where Notre Dame beats Notre Dame, and we've got to eliminate those. But to beat that team and to have some of those errors that we had and to win by 17, it's a good sign.

So we'll enjoy it tonight. We'll evaluate it tomorrow and get back to work. But I want them to enjoy this victory because they deserve it.

Q. Running game was a big topic, at least in our world all week. What did you think of your running game tonight, especially Nolan James Jr.?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I thought they did a good job. There were some runs early that weren't popping, and we got to stay committed to them. We've got to be able to draw up some of the pressures in the stunts they were doing defensively.

I thought more than anything the adjustments that we made in game as a coaching staff and the ability for our players to then go out to the field and execute them was tremendous.

But it was an emphasis for us this week. We'll see exactly how it went, but they did a good job, and we ran for a lot of yards.

Q. You mentioned on Monday it's kind of a race for your team against everybody else to improve the fastest. Where do you feel like your team improved tonight?

MARCUS FREEMAN: It's just hard to say. The run game obviously. The run game is really important. We still won the turnover margin by two. We haven't turned the ball over in three games, and if we keep taking care of the ball, we keep winning the turnover margin, we're going to have a chance to be really good.

I don't want to take for granted some of the things they've been doing well that they continue to do well because you're doing them well against different looks, different opponents. But the running game, obviously, that was good to see.

Q. The unsportsmanlike penalty on Aneyas after the touchdown, what did you see on that, and what was your message after that on the sideline?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I saw the ref throw the flag because we were celebrating, and we shouldn't have been doing it. We've got to be smarter than that. That's what I saw. They were doing a dance or whatever and the ref threw the flag. Do that on the sideline. It's uncalled for. We've got to be smarter than that.

Q. Micah Gilbert had the most receiving yards in a game for this program since 2019 in the game today. What was working for him so well tonight?

MARCUS FREEMAN: We capitalized on some shots. CJ did a good job of putting the ball in a place where he can go make it, and then he's got to go make it. It's twofold. The O-line's got to protect, the quarterback's got to throw it, and the wideout's got to catch it, and we did that pretty well a few times today, and Micah was the recipient of a lot of those.

Q. You could win by playing great defense and not turn the ball over. Do you feel like this team needs to be able to win in different ways than what they did tonight, or is tonight like a sustainable formula the rest of the way?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think every game presents its own story. How we won week one, 13-10, and what happened in the second half to make it 42-10, and we got a pick six and -- 42-13. Then what happened last week, our guys were just executing on both sides of the ball.

I think every game is going to present a different story, and we'll see at the end what it is. I aspire to have a really good defense. I aspire to have a fundamentally sound offense that can rush the ball and capitalize off of big plays, and a special teams unit that can change the game. That's what I aspire this football team to be.

Now, it isn't always going to happen like that. If one is down, we need the other one to make sure they're doing their job. But I aspire to be the most well-rounded football team in college football.

Q. What makes Nolan James good within his running style?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think he's -- first of all, his body, like his lower half is low to the ground, low center of gravity, big legs. He's got great balance. He's explosive. In his own way, he's explosive once he sees it, but he's physical and tough to bring down. I think that lower center of gravity really helps him. He's strong in his lower half, but he's explosive, quick, and he has good vision too.

Q. Tonight was the first time your team has really played in these rainy conditions. How did you feel that your guys were able to handle those sloppy conditions as the game went on?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think we probably made it a bigger deal than what we thought it was going to be than it really was. It really didn't start coming down until probably late in the second a little bit and then late in the fourth. So it wasn't a huge factor.

We had a plan, and the plan is based on how your guys can perform in the weather, right? If our guys are having no issue, then continue to do what we do on both sides of the ball. But if there's issues, do we ask for a new ball every play? Do we go to a run game? There's certain types of plays we call, but I thought they did a good job.

Q. We've now seen Jonaz Walton in two consecutive weeks. Do you expect him to have a continued role in the offense going forward?

MARCUS FREEMAN: This is three, yeah, third time. He's an ascending player. He played versus Wisconsin. He played versus Rice. He played this week, and he's going to continue to get opportunities because he's a talented football player that is really ascending.

Q. Against the two Big Ten teams, two gritty offensive performances, efficient against Wisconsin, and you got it done tonight. Is there a lot on CJ Carr's plate to be almost perfect in these situations, unless you have a guy like Micah Gilbert who can come up and keep helping make those long plays downfield?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I hope everybody has a little bit of that pressure to be perfect on that play. That's the mindset we've got to have. I don't want to create a narrative that we're asking CJ Carr to be perfect. We're asking everybody to be perfect. It's not realistic, but we're going to ask and demand that you be perfect on every play, really on this play, right?

If you're perfect on this play, then the next one be perfect. We aspire to have a perfect game. It just doesn't happen. I don't want this to be a narrative that we're putting -- we want everybody out there to be perfect on that play and let the last play go no matter if they were perfect or not.

Q. I'm sure Coach Biagi saw something that would pop on that fourth and long for the fake punt. Was that something you felt you had seen or something you maybe could have had had he broken outside?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I've got to let some things go myself. I probably should have said no -- because we didn't make it, right? You know how it is. Now that we didn't make it, I should have said no.

But I love the play. I love the plan. I didn't love the execution. So -- but you know, like we got to be aggressive. It's a mentality I have, that we have. I only regret it because it didn't work, but I really love the way our guys bought in and prepared for that play. We just didn't get it done, and it ended up hurting our team.

You think about that play, the following drive they end up and go down and score a field goal. We go and we score, and then we get a personal foul celebrating, and then they go down and score. That play probably started some negative plays for our team, and I put that on myself, like be smart in that situation. Punt the ball; your defense is playing great.

Q. That back shoulder fade from CJ to Micah in the second half is a pretty narrow path to success there inside the 10 yard line. How do you describe the number of things that have to go right for that pass to go right there on the back shoulder?

MARCUS FREEMAN: The long one?

Q. Yes.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Oh, yeah, that was -- ooh, that was good. I was a little bit concerned right there. Did the ball hit the ground? We got to go tempo, tempo, tempo. Then CJ starts checking. But the ref, they didn't replay it, or they didn't stop the game. So that means it was a catch. It's just hard to see out there in the moment.

That was a heck of a throw and an unbelievable catch. That was really good to see.