Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman met with the media on Monday afternoon, and it seemed like he was pleased with what he saw on Saturday.
The Irish looked dominant in a 52-0 win over visiting Rice, as much of their game was working. Quarterback CJ Carr looked like a star leading the offense, and the defense took advantages of mistakes and started off the scoring.
Freeman spoke on many topics as he wrapped up the Rice game, previewed Michigan State and talked about some areas of improvement. Find out below my top takeaways from Notre Dame’s head coach’s Monday press conference.
Notre Dame’s fundamentals better in Week 2
Marcus Freeman is here for his Michigan State week press conference. On his team's performance against Rice: "They played with fundamentals better than they did in Week
1, and it ended up turning into better execution."
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) September 14, 2026
The scoreboard showed exactly what Freeman was explaining, the fundamentals for the Irish were much better. “We are in a race with every team in the country who can improve faster,” he said during his opening comments. It’s a unique way of looking at it, not just inside the building but what they’ll face as the season continues to advance.
Michigan State will be similar to Northwestern for Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman is here: We're in a race against the rest of the country to improve. ... Michigan State has Pat Fitzgerald's DNA written all over them. #NotreDame
— Mike BerardinoNDI (@MikeBerardino) September 14, 2026
Pat Fitzgerald already has made an impact, as he’s brought over his winning ways from Northwestern to East Lansing. He’s quickly made the Spartans much more competitive, and it will be an interesting challenge for the program.
Notre Dame made late changes to defense vs. Rice, maturity was why
Freeman: Leadership is what makes a mature football team. The ability to challenge each other when the actions are below the standard.
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) September 14, 2026
You have a competitive advantage when you have a mature team, as Freeman explained that on Friday, the coaching staff made changes to the game-plan against the Owls. If it wasn’t for a mature group, it could have backfired, but the results were stellar. This will surely play as the year goes on, as in crunch time against difficult opponents, the maturity will rise up.
Notre Dame looking to explosive runs, will continue to adjust
Freeman: Talked with the offensive staff Sunday on different schematics to help the running game. They are doing a good job in the running game, they are searching for more explosives.
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) September 14, 2026
It’s not just about the players, its about the concepts that the coaches are asking the back to do, which might be a reason why we haven’t seen many big runs over the first two games. The leadership and production from last fall is in the NFL, and the coaching might want to take a bit off the backs plate to see more production. It does seem like Jonaz Walton will be getting more touches going forward.
Notre Dame will be smart with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
We’ve missed you Notre Dame LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) September 12, 2026
Stay healthy & contend for LB1
☘️Extremely athletic
☘️Off-ball LB & Edge versatility
☘️Instincts triggering violently downhill pic.twitter.com/38Yr955IUh
The star linebacker returned to the field this past weekend, and the impact was huge. Recovering a fumble, near the top of the team lead in tackles, it was a more than impressive 2026 debut. However, Freeman wants to be careful with him, and he’s on a snap-count until the medial team fully clears him. Great to see KVA on the field, but there is some caution with him ramping it up too quickly.
Marcus Freeman - ‘We are chasing perfection’
Freeman: Chasing perfection in the passing game. Want to be intentional about working the skill set of catching the football.
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) September 14, 2026
Notre Dame wants to be on top of the college football world, and for that, they’ll need to collectively be great. Many teams have talked about what Freeman did on Monday, “chasing perfection,” and while it was aimed at the wide receivers, you have to believe that its the same mentality for all groups. If the Irish are able to achieve it, a College Football Playoff championship will be the result. I love that this is the goal, as anything less wouldn’t unlock the full potential of this team.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Takeaways as Marcus Freeman wraps up Rice & previews Michigan State
