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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are in the midst of a four-game stretch of consecutive night games. The team’s head coach is just finding out, and he doesn’t seem thrilled.
Marcus Freeman was asked about one of those upcoming kickoff times in a recent press conference, and he looked exhausted just thinking about the late starts.
Here’s the clip of Marcus Freeman getting the news that Notre Dame will play #Louisville in a night game next week.
(via Notre Dame Athletics)#GoCards #ForTheVille @WHAS11 https://t.co/osFxTPpDBy pic.twitter.com/I456lvjtbR— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) September 25, 2023
“Louisville’s a night game?” the coach answered when asked about the future matchup. “Okay…”
A deep sigh followed that response as Freeman seems fed up with the night kicks.
His team is fresh off a primetime matchup with Ohio State where the Irish fell on the final play to lose 17-14. Next up is a night game with Duke followed by 7:30 PM kickoffs against Louisville and USC.
He also had a season-opening contest with Navy in Dublin.
Now, night games, particularly on the road, can lead to some pretty raucous environments. Many around the Louisville program are expecting as much with the Cardinals potentially entering the heavyweight bout undefeated.
Freeman apparently hasn’t looked too far ahead in the schedule, but it’s evident he prefers an early start on Saturdays.
Fans have been quick to respond to the reaction on social media.
“Buddy is scared,” one follower commented.
“Imagine a coach being exhausted five games into the season,” another person said.
Freeman is in just his second year as Notre Dame’s head coach. Last season, the Irish played five night games in the regular season, though most were split up with the exception of back-to-back matchups against BYU and Stanford.
Unfortunately for Freeman, this string of games likely won’t end his team’s night game appearances in 2023. The Fighting Irish still have a November matchup against Clemson and a season-ending trip to Stanford, both of which have an opportunity to be played in primetime.
That’s just the price of coaching a major brand in college football.