Marshall shocks Notre Dame as Fighting Irish continue sluggish start under Marcus Freeman
By Keith Farner
Published:
Notre Dame acquitted itself well in the opener against Ohio State, but still came out on the short end last week. This week against Marshall, though, the Fighting Irish struggled, and suffered a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to fall behind, including a Pick-6.
Marshall prevailed 26-21.
Tyler Buchner was 18-for-32 passing for 201 yards and 2 interceptions in the game for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish got a late punt block, but it was too little too late.
Notre Dame didn’t lead until early in the fourth quarter, after Marshall scored the opening touchdown, and then Marshall also led at halftime, 9-7.
Marcus Freeman, who coached in the bowl game last season, is 0-3 as Notre Dame’s coach, the first time that’s happened to the Irish.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 10, 2022
Before the game, the matchup was historic because of the fact that the two schools had never met on the football field and Freeman and second-year Marshall coach Charles Huff, a former Nick Saban assistant, became the first Black coaches to square off in stadium history. Huff received a Gatorade bucket splash in the post-game celebration.
Marshall is off to a great start, as the Thundering Herd went 7-6 last season and in their 55-3 Week 1 victory over Norfolk State when the defense allowed only 5 first downs, 114 total yards and posted 2 takeaways.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
