Marcus Freeman Faces Notre Dame Ultimatum As Soft ACC Slate Prompts Wild Take

Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame squad isn’t entering 2025 like a team hoping to contend. They’re walking in like a team that expects to. After a thrilling run to last season’s national championship game, the Fighting Irish have momentum, returning talent, and a growing belief that their ceiling isn’t just theoretical anymore. But what exactly would count as “success” this fall in South Bend? That’s the million-dollar question facing Freeman, and the expectations are clear.

With a loaded roster returning and an aggressive recruiting pipeline keeping the cupboard full, Freeman is no longer coaching as the hopeful upstart. He’s leading a program with unfinished business. A 9-3 record might once have earned applause. This year? It’ll raise eyebrows. And that’s not pressure; it’s progress. The standard in South Bend has shifted from respectable to elite. And according to Bryan Driskell of Irish Breakdown, getting to the playoffs is a given. It’s about making noise once you’re there.

“I don’t think they’re going to be okay with like 10-2 and a Pop-Tarts Bowl bid,” Driskell said on Crain & Company, laying down the reality for the 2025 season. “You know, as they break in a new quarterback because there’s so much talent coming back. It’s more so, hey, you got to get back to the semis. Get back to at least the semis, and then anything beyond that is sort of like gravy as they start prepping for 2026.” That’s the new minimum. Another College Football Playoff appearance and then some more games in the win section. No more measuring sticks. No more moral victories. This is about going all out back-to-back.

Driskell added that while “natty or bust” isn’t quite the mentality for Freeman’s crew yet, the expectations have undeniably climbed. “I don’t think it’s, you know, they gotta win the natty or it’s a failure,” he clarified. “But I do think that another playoff berth and a win or two is absolutely the sort of new standard for Notre Dame under Marcus Freeman.” And that’s what happens when you start to belong in the elite category. The fans want you to upgrade or, at the very least, match your past performance. Getting there isn’t enough anymore. Winning once you arrive is now part of the equation. That’s what separates elite programs from the rest of the field. And Freeman knows that.

It’s a remarkable shift for a program that, not long ago, was questioned for its ability to compete with college football’s upper crust. But Freeman has flipped the narrative. He’s turned Notre Dame into a destination for top-tier recruits, a locker room full of believers, and a fan base hungry for trophies, not just rankings. The Irish aren’t aiming to ‘hang around’ anymore. They’re expected to do what’s in their name—fight.

The margin for error in South Bend

With a national championship run still fresh in memory, Notre Dame enters 2025 with as much clarity about its goals as it has about its risks. The Fighting Irish have the firepower, the coaching, and the schedule to dream big—like, “run-the-table” big. But they’re also relying on a relatively young roster with a new signal-caller at the helm. According to Bryan Driskell of Irish Breakdown, the spread between the ceiling and the floor isn’t massive, but the expectations are.

“Ceiling is running the table, you know, going 12-0,” Driskell said. “They have a better roster than every team they play.” That’s the upside: undefeated, with a return ticket to the College Football Playoff and possibly even a top seed. But the floor? “I think the floor is 10-2. Anything worse than 10-2 for this team is a disappointment.” Notre Dame fans may be adjusting to this reality, but the bar is now set. Multiple losses in the regular season will mean something went seriously off-script, especially with this much talent on both sides of the ball.

Driskell points out the nuance here. Notre Dame is experienced in reps but young on paper. “Even though they’re an experienced team as far as snaps and starts, they’re still young,” he noted. With a freshman quarterback and several redshirt freshmen and sophomores in key roles, the Irish are built for both now and later. But youth comes with volatility. Still, the talent floor is so high, even the worst-case outcome still puts Notre Dame firmly in top 12 territory.



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