Sports

Marcus Freeman’s Villain Arc Is Officially Underway After He Forced Himself To Watch Ohio State Celebrate

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Marcus Freeman
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Marcus Freeman had an opportunity to give Notre Dame a chance at winning the college football national championship on Monday night in Atlanta. He chose to kick a field goal instead.

The mind-boggling decision put the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Fighting Irish and essentially guaranteed a victory for the Buckeyes.

Freeman forced himself to watch the trophy ceremony after the game to remind himself of a feeling that he never wants to experience again. It is the start of his villain arc.

The 39-year-old college football coach elected to kick a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the nine-yard-line while losing 31-15 with nine minutes and 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. If that wasn’t bad enough, Mitch Jeter doinked the 27-yard attempt off of the right upright.

Freeman explained his thought process after the game. Although his logic actually makes some sense, it was still the wrong call.

I just thought instead of being down 16, let’s try and go down 13. I know it’s still a two-score game, but you have a better probability of getting 14 points than you do 16 points. If it was a shorter fourth-and-goal situation, I probably would have gone for it, but I just felt that fourth-and-9 was not a great chance for us to make that.

— Marcus Freeman

Notre Dame ultimately went on to lose 34-23. A touchdown on 4th-and-goal would’ve changed the momentum of the game at a crucial moment in the college football national championship. Instead, the missed field goal gave the ball right back to Ohio State. Bummer.

Freeman, who is by all accounts one of the nicest people on the planet, did not immediately join his team in the locker room after the crushing defeat. He made a point to linger behind.

Much like Stefon Diggs’ famous on-field moment after the AFC Championship in 2021, Freeman stopped in his tracks to watch the Buckeyes’ trophy ceremony. It was intense.

Marcus Freeman never wants to feel what he felt on Monday. His villain arc is officially underway and the trophy ceremony was the origin. He stood there with a look on his face that can only mean one thing. This won’t happen again.