The Orange Bowl was a huge win for that program. The fact that they made it all this way — against Penn State, no less — speaks to the job Freeman has done. To go from losing to Northern Illinois at the beginning of the season to playing for a national championship is unheard of.

Freeman — a surprise hire in December 2021 since he had never been a head coach when Notre Dame promoted the then-defensive coordinator after Kelly bolted for LSU — hasn’t had the same problems.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly remains in headlines after his former program, Notre Dame, punched its ticket to the National Championship on Thursday night. Third-year head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish took down the Penn State Nittany Lions to secure a spot in the title game with a matchup against Ohio State or Texas on the horizon.