Marcus Freeman clarifies controversial fourth-down decision in national title loss vs. Ohio State
Trailing Ohio State 31-15 in the fourth quarter in the national championship, Notre Dame looked like it had the makings of a comeback. The Fighting Irish got a big turnover and were deep into Buckeyes territory before the offense stalled out, setting up 4th-and-Goal.
Rather than go for the touchdown, Marcus Freeman opted to kick a field goal. Mitch Jeter’s attempt instead went off the upright, keeping it a 16-point game. Afterward, Freeman clarified the controversial decision.
At the time of the decision, Notre Dame needed two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to tie the game. Freeman’s thinking was to take away the conversions and, instead, make it a 13-point game – therefore, needing two touchdowns and two PATs to take the lead. Considering the ball was at the 8-yard line, Freeman thought it was too far a distance to go for it.
“I think it was 4th and 9 or 10. And I just thought, instead of being down 16, let’s try to go down 13,” Freeman said. “I know it’s still a two-score game, but you have a better probability of getting 14 points than you do 16 points.
“If it was a shorter 4th and Goal situation, I probably would’ve gone for it. But, I just felt 4th and 9 was not a great chance for us to make that. I decided to kick it, and we didn’t make it.”
The post Marcus Freeman clarifies controversial fourth-down decision in national title loss vs. Ohio State appeared first on On3.
