Urban Meyer hails Marcus Freeman & Co’s “refuse to lose” mentality as he previews Ohio State - Notre Dame game

Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will play the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET. They earned their spot in the game after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 27-24 in the Orange Bowl last week.

On Monday, an episode of "The Triple Option" was released. On the episode, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer talked about Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame squad and how it has a "refuse to lose" mentality (starts at 47:25).

"Remember Notre Dame lost three or four really good players," said Meyer. "Their defense is phenomenal. Al Golden, their defensive coordinator, is an incredible coach.

"They got great players on defense, but remember they lost four players on defense. Offensively, I just, this is not a talent-equated game to me on paper. It's not and on film, I would say it's not."

He continued:

"But I would say, the Fighting Irish, those gold helmets, the way they play. Rarely does the less talented team beat a more talented team, but this is one of those teams with the refuse to lose mentality.

"When they beat Georgia. Remember how they beat Georgia. They scored. They got a short field, six to eight-yard field. Next thing you know, there's a kickoff return for a touchdown and the game flipped like that. It was not that they lined up toe-to-toe and swung and hit and hit and hit. Because Georgia on film and paper probably had the better team."

Marcus Freeman has helped the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the next step

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish has been a largely successful college football program for many years. Under their previous coach, Brian Kelly, the Fighting Irish only had one losing season from 2010 to 2021. However, the team only reached the CFP semifinal twice and lost both games.

Since Marcus Freeman took over as coach in 2022, the team has steadily improved. He started with a 9-4 season in 2022 and improved to 10-3 in 2023. This season, he had a record-setting season, helping the team reach a 14-1 record before the National Championship Game.

It is the first season in the team's history that it has had more than 12 wins. Additionally, the Fighting Irish have won every bowl game they have played since Freeman arrived as coach.