Marcus Freeman reminds his Notre Dame team to ‘control the volume of the moment’ as they continue their quest for a CFB Playoff berth
There are a lot of Notre Dame fans who would have laughed if you told them the Irish still had a legitimate chance at the College Football Playoffs following the week two loss to Northern Illinois. With just one regular season game remaining, that’s exactly what is on the table. If the Fighting Irish are […]
There are a lot of Notre Dame fans who would have laughed if you told them the Irish still had a legitimate chance at the College Football Playoffs following the week two loss to Northern Illinois. With just one regular season game remaining, that’s exactly what is on the table. If the Fighting Irish are able to defeat the USC Trojans on Saturday, they will clinch a spot in the field.
It’s rivalry week, and with that added conversation around the playoffs, it’s easy for players to get distracted. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman isn’t avoiding those distractions as the team prepares to make the trip out to Southern California. He instead has provided his players with a way of harnessing that pressure, and prioritizing what is most important.
“We all tend to drift,” Coach Freeman said to the media on Monday. “We all tend to daydream about a future that is uncertain. I always challenge them that it is the thought after a thought. If you start thinking about things other than right now, remind yourself to get back into the moment and take care of what you have guaranteed right now. The noise is loud if you let it be. We control the volume of the moment.”
Since that loss to Northern Illinois earlier this season, this Notre Dame team has seemed to have a level of focus we haven’t seen from the program in recent years. Coach Freeman has continued his stoic nature, but has also carried some angst with him as well.
This team has seemed to adopt the personality of Coach Freeman, and has continued to grow each week. Let’s hope they have learned this latest skill in drowning out the outside noise. The last time this team listened to everyone telling them how good they were, things didn’t go so well.
