The Notre Dame Fighting Irish came into Saturday hoping to rebound from their Ohio State loss and notch an easy victory at home before the meat of their schedule kicks in. The Marshall Thundering Herd had different plans and the Sun Belt squad upset the No. 8 Irish in South Bend, 26-21.
The loss means that Notre Dame starts the season 0-2 and head coach Marcus Freeman is now 0-3 to begin his head coaching career there, making him the first Fighting Irish coach to ever do so.
Their head coach off to an 0-3 career start https://t.co/luatQ3gH4a
— Joe Giglio (@giglio_OG) September 10, 2022
Marshall cemented the upset win with an epic pick-six by Steven Gilmore that put the Herd up 26-15 with 4:35 left.
Hey, uh, Notre Dame…wake up those echoes anytime now… pic.twitter.com/Jxi3QB2dxO
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 10, 2022
Marshall then seemingly iced the win with another interception, their third one on the day.
Notre Dame appears to be on the verge of losing to Marshall at home after yet another interception. pic.twitter.com/0cAGhDNddX
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 10, 2022
Notre Dame did manage to get a late touchdown but failed on the two-point conversion. They also failed the get the onside kick and that was it.
It’s a brutal loss for the Irish, who don’t stand a chance of sniffing the College Football Playoff this year and are now in danger of not qualifying for a bowl game unless they get it together fast. Their schedule includes road games at North Carolina, BYU, and USC as well as showdowns against Clemson and Stanford.
We’ll see if the Irish can turn it around but, right now, things are looking very bad for the football team and head coach Marcus Freeman.
What a huge, huge moment for Marshall and Charles Huff. What an abject disaster for Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) September 10, 2022
It’s going to be very hard to tweet about Notre Dame football this fall…
It might be even harder to watch.
Such a painful day to be an Irish fan.
— Notre Dame Recruiting (@NDrecruiting01) September 10, 2022
The Marcus Freeman Attention Tour sure was fun while it lasted.
— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) September 10, 2022
Marshall was paid $1.25 million to travel to #8 Notre Dame today.
They just beat the Irish 26-21. pic.twitter.com/yspDCSYINW
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 10, 2022
why did anybody expect Marshall, a school which produced Randy Moss, to lose to Notre Dame, a school which has never produced any football players as good as Randy Moss
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) September 10, 2022
The Sun Belt can play the football. As we've seen repeatedly the last two weekends, they might not beat you, but they're gonna make you earn it. Unless you're Notre Dame. Then they'll totally beat you.
— Ryan McGee (@ESPNMcGee) September 10, 2022
I guess you could say Notre Dame laid a Thundering Turd
— Adam Jacobi (@adam_jacobi) September 10, 2022
I get that this Fighting Irish team might not wind up being that good this year, but Marshall going into Notre Dame and winning on that campus as a G5 team only reinforces the potential captivating upside of the CFP once it moves to 12 teams and first-round games are on campus.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) September 10, 2022
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 10, 2022
Add the Sun Belt to the long list of conferences Notre Dame shouldn’t join.
— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) September 10, 2022
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.