Marcus Freeman is doing everything he can to keep the intensity up for No. 9 Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish (8-2) have two games remaining in the regular season. Both will come against teams with losing records, starting with Saturday afternoon’s matchup vs. Syracuse (3-7) in South Bend, Ind.
Freeman wants his players to stay focused on the upcoming game and take nothing for granted. He also wants them to ignore chatter about the College Football Playoff as much as possible.
“Every test as we continue to move forward will be tougher,” Freeman said. “Every one. It’s not always the record of the opponent, but there’s also the added human element of the outside noise of playoffs, the outside noise of maybe this team’s record isn’t (impressive).
“That’s a challenge, right? That’s why I say each test as we go forward is a greater challenge, because you add that into the mix.”
After losing its first two games of the season, against Miami and Texas A&M, Notre Dame has eight wins in a row. The Fighting Irish are coming off a 37-15 victory on the road against then-No. 22 Pitt last Saturday.
A balanced attack has lifted Notre Dame into the Top 10 in the nation. CJ Carr has completed 67.3% of his passes for 2,487 yards and 21 touchdowns against six interceptions, Jeremiyah Love has rushed for 1,135 yards and 14 TDs, and Jadarian Price has run for 589 yards and nine scores.
On defense, Tae Johnson leads the way with four interceptions, including one pick-six.
Syracuse will try to play the role of spoiler. The Orange have lost six straight games, including 38-10 at then-No. 18 Miami last week, and they no longer are in contention to make a bowl.
Despite the losing streak, Syracuse coach Fran Brown said he is looking forward to a high-profile matchup against a championship contender. He praised Freeman and said he felt thankful for the upcoming challenge.
“We get to play against the No. 9 team in the country this weekend, against one of the better coaches in the country,” Brown said. “I get to put myself up to the test — like, ‘Fran, you think you’re good? You get a chance to go compete against Coach Freeman.’
“Coach Freeman has a lot of really good players. He’s built the program up. Got Notre Dame back where Notre Dame wants to be at. I’m trying to follow that same thing right now. I think this is a good test for us to be able to go out and play them.”
Rickie Collins will start at quarterback for Syracuse. He has thrown for 1,042 yards with six touchdowns against 10 interceptions since replacing former Notre Dame backup and Orange No. 1 starter Steve Angeli, who tore his Achilles tendon earlier this season.
Yasin Willis leads Syracuse with 558 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The top wideout is Johntay Cook, who has 41 catches for 518 yards and two touchdowns.
