The vibes around Notre Dame football has seemed to be as high as it has been for some time now. When head coach Marcus Freeman took over following the 2021 season after previously serving as the defensive coordinator, there was a lot of optimism for the trajectory of the program overall. That euphoric state was an incredible time, but wasn’t prepared for some obstacles that may have surfaced.

Irish fans were knocked down several pegs during that initial season when Notre Dame suffered unthinkable losses to both Marshall and Stanford. That was a slight punch back to reality, with those feelings once again resurfacing this season with the loss to Northern Illinois. In this world, it’s very easy to be negative, and it took over the Irish fan base at various times.

One thing that wasn’t considered enough when Coach Freeman took over was the transition he was going to go through. Being a head coach at a major university is hard enough. Being the head coach at the University of Notre Dame is even harder. Now imagine that is your first job as a head coach in general. That is an almost unbelievable adjustment to make.

As you can guess, there were some bumps in the road. Now throw in the new transfer portal and NIL landscapes, making it an even steeper learning curve for a first time head coach. Despite that, not enough grace was given to Coach Freeman with much of an opportunity to figure it out.

There seemed to be growth in 2023, not having that clunker of a loss against an awful football team. It seemed that Coach Freeman and his staff were figuring things out, entering the 2024 college football season with championship aspirations very real.

The opening season victory over Texas A&M once again brought euphoria. Beating a top-25 SEC school on the road in a hostile environment wasn’t something this fan base was used to. Then the Northern Illinois loss happened. From there, many people, including myself, chose to jump off of the bandwagon. There’s just no way this was going to work out.

Since then, this Notre Dame team has looked completely different. Despite the naysayers and constant negativity, the Irish seem to have steadily been trending upward. There was once a lack of identity with this football team, but over the last seven games, all wins, that seems to have been found.

Most fans have been waiting for a blunder to happen. Where would the trip be? Louisville? Georgia Tech? Maybe, Navy? It felt like a large portion of the fan base began preparing themselves for that fall back to reality.

However, that game hasn’t come. Coach Freeman has now won seven straight games, and has done so in dominant fashion. Now nine games into the season, this team is averaging 38.3 points per game and allowing just 11.1. This version of the Notre Dame team has done nothing to stick together, drown out the noise, and endured every spout of negativity and setback along the way.

With three games left, Notre Dame is starting to look like a scary team. Ranked inside the top ten of the college football playoff rankings, they feel like a group that could be a very tough out when the postseason officially does begin. A stifling defense, improving offense, and physical demeanor, this team feels a bit different.

For the first time in a long time, this is a program that feels like they can, and will stand toe to toe against any team in the country. It has been a very, very long time since the fan base felt like that. Coach Freeman seems to be carrying himself differently, a little more agitated, and it is rubbing off on his football team.

In reality, we may be seeing the natural maturation of a football coach in year three. While other coaches around college football such as Brian Kelly (LSU) and Brent Venables (Oklahoma) have shown steep regression, Coach Freeman is showing that his team is continuing to get better. That progression is important when determining just how good of a coach someone really is.

From here, it’s going to be about how Notre Dame finishes. If that maturation has taken place, then Coach Freeman is going to have this team prepared and handle business the next three games. When the playoffs kick off, the key is going to be for this Irish team to look prepared, and like they can handle any challenge in front of them.

It has been a bumpy road for Coach Freeman since taking over as head coach, but he has handled every step with class and diligence. It might not have been what Notre Dame fans wanted, but it may have been what Coach Freeman needed. It could end up paying off big time for this program moving forward.