advertisement

Jim O’Donnell: Freeman, Irish need a chunk o’ Northern Illinois at the CFP title game

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP IRISH for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

Still, that shamrock quake leaves no one backing off from lighting Touchdown Riley Leonard candles down at The Grotto near South Bend.

They punched back to score a 27-24 win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl Thursday night. Their star-blessed closing flurry during a theatrical fourth quarter sends them to Atlanta for the tournament's championship game on Monday night, Jan. 20. There, they'll need some breaks. They've already moved from an 8½- to a 9½-point underdog vs. Ohio State.

FREEMAN — WHO TURNED 39 FRIDAY — has already moved north of Charmin' Charlie Weis, Bob Davie and Ty Willingham on the ND cheer-cheer pole. He has more likability in his little toes than suitcase sphinx Brian Kelly generated in 12 seasons (and 92 non-vacated victories).

By the wee hours of Jan. 21, Freeman may be going trophy-to-trophy with Lou Holtz — who won the school's last national championship in 1988.

The Holy Trinity — Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian — will remain sacrosanct for the time being.

EXPERTS WILL CITE FREEMAN'S NATURAL CHARM, his textured Ohio State/Jim Tressel playing pedigree and his impressive knack as a college football head coach to be able to “embrace the adversity.”

Some will say that it was the stunning adversity of a 16-14 loss to Thomas Hammock and Northern Illinois — 29½-point underdogs — at Notre Dame Stadium last September that has greatly helped fuel ND's 13-game win streak.

A WHOLE LOT OF YOUNG LADS on the NIU side played the game of their lives that memorable northern Indiana afternoon.

At the same time, a significant number of the NIL-pricey Irish purged a ton of elitist, just-show-up football from their systems.

A punch in the burly emerald mutton chops can do that.

SO HERE'S A FREE — but must-do — imaging and motivational concept for young Coach Freeman:

Post haste, see to it that a representative batch of NIU competitors from that game are in Atlanta as the guests of Notre Dame for the final days up to and including The Big Night.

Start with Hammock.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman should invite Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock, center, to the College Football Playoff championship game to motivate his players, writes columnist Jim O’Donnell. AP

Players who are automatics include: quarterback Ethan Hampton (who has since departed for Illinois), Lincoln Highway-sized defensive lineman Cade Haberman, who blocked two field goals, including Mitch Jeter's potential game winner as time expired, and NIU placekicker Kanon Woodill, whose 35-yard FG with 31 seconds remaining provided the winning points.

FOR SURE, ADD RUNNING BACK ANTARIO BROWN, whose electric 83-yard catch-and-run from Hampton in the first quarter showed that the Huskies weren't just visiting the South Bend-Mishawaka corridor to play for the $1.4 million guarantee.

Also — even though he is also leaving DeKalb via the transfer portal, for Curt Cignetti's Indiana — cornerback Amariyun Knighten is a must. It was his first career interception with 5:55 left in the fourth quarter that set up the winning field-goal drive.

There's a Pick Six for Freeman and Notre Dame to show respect, class and gratitude toward the band of cornfield a'maze men whose unexpected barbed wiring spurred the Irish into a much higher competitive dimension.

TO EXTEND THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE, chew up a little more ND money — and take it to The Bank and Trust of Gipper Boulevard, the program is being funded to records levels right now — hold a lottery to add a few more people from NIU football staff and roster to the Peachtree Street honor roll.

Above all, make sure that the privileged guests from Northern Illinois are around final practices and walk-through in NIU jerseys and other passively haunting regalia to remind Freeman's leprechauns how close this possible CFP championship season came to being preempted.

LONG BEFORE THE LANDMARK NIU TRIUMPH four months ago, Freeman was aware how the Huskies can claw. He was a 26-year-old linebackers coach at Kent State on the classic November evening in 2012 when the brilliant Jordan Lynch led NIU to a 44-37 win in double overtime for the MAC championship at Ford Field in Detroit.

Mid-American Conference football memories are now over the shoulders at Northern. The Huskies are moving to the Mountain West in 2026 for gridiron matters. Not all alumni and students are thrilled. It's a long way from Ball State to Boise State. George Bork and Hugh Rohrschneider never had to count time zones.

THE CURRENT TONE is so far different at Notre Dame. The spectacular 16-14 wound of Sept. 7 has been stitched, healed and delivered into radiant victory fields of green.

Just count the Touchdown Riley Leonard candles at The Grotto.

Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.