"Proud of those guys": Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman expresses satisfaction with his players' performance after blowing out Florida State

Marcus Freeman led Notre Dame to another win against Florida State on Saturday. The Fighting Irish blew out the struggling Seminoles in South Bend with a 52-3 scoreline, further adding to the misery of Mike Norvell’s team.

Following the Week 11 encounter on Saturday, Freeman expressed his satisfaction at the performance of his players against Florida State. Notre Dame dominated its opponent on both sides of the ball to secure the emphatic victory at home.

“Proud of those guys,” Freeman said. “Proud of the way they prepared. As you watch film, you know you’re going against a talented group, but it could have been easy to overlook those guys in terms of preparation because of the record.”

"But we’ve got a mature group. We’ve got a bunch of seniors that are continuing to lead this group in the right way, and I truly believe in my heart. Saturday is a reflection of preparation, and they are preparing the right way. They have the right mentality.

The win against Florida State on Saturday is the seventh consecutive win since suffering the upset against Northern Illinois in Week 2. This places the Fighting Irish playoff hopes in good shape.

Marcus Freeman talks Notre Dame’s mentality at halftime

Notre Dame ended the first half of the game against Florida State on Saturday 21-3 ahead. Despite the comfortable lead at halftime, the Fighting Irish returned as a much better team in the second half, getting over the series of mistakes they made in the first.

“The sign of a great team is consistency,” Freeman said. “We all can have good plays and bad plays, and good days and bad days, and good games and bad games. But the sign of great teams and great organizations is consistency.

“I challenged them a little bit at halftime, ‘Let’s be consistent. That’s who you really are, right? It’s not what you do on one day versus what you — who you are is who you are consistently, and that’s in all walks of life.’”

Notre Dame gained a total of 453 yards in the game on Saturday while allowing 208, showcasing a balance on both sides of the field. Nonetheless, there are areas the Fighting Irish can work on to become a much better team including third-down efficiency.

With one loss this season, Notre Dame is in a good position to seal a spot in the College Football Playoff. Marcus Freeman’s team will face Virginia, Army and USC in the rest of the regular season. Avoiding defeat in their remaining games will keep their playoff hopes alive.