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Feb 19, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman and team are honored in the first half of the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the SMU Mustangs at the Purcell Pavilion. Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman Sparks Watchlist Buzz as Notre Dame Season Nears

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 3:17 PM ET

Fresh off the Fourth of July weekend, the countdown to college football is now in full swing. Monday brought the release of the video game, College Football '26, but also marked the start of watchlist season for all the major awards.

For Notre Dame, the first member of the football team to be named to a watchlist is a person who won the award they're watchlisted for again in 2025.

Marcus Freeman was named to the Bobby Dodd Trophy watchlist on Monday, which goes annually "to the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity".

Below is Notre Dame's press release announcing the news on Monday:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman, the winner of the 2024 Dodd Trophy, has earned selection to the award’s 2025 watch list. The Dodd Trophy celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field. Freeman is one of three Dodd Trophy winners on the watch list, joining Dabo Swinney (2011) and Brian Kelly (2018).

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Freeman enters the 2025 season after leading Notre Dame to a National Championship appearance and a 14-2 record in 2024, with a final Associated Press ranking of No. 2. He was honored with several coaching awards during the 2024 season, including: the Dodd Trophy; the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award; the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award; the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches College Coach of the Year honor; the Ted Ginn Sr. Coach of the Year Award from the National Alliance of African American Athletes; and the honorary head coach for the 2024 AFCA Allstate Good Works Team.

Entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish, Freeman has an all-time record of 33-10, with a postseason record of 5-2, including three CFP wins in 2024. He led Notre Dame to seven victories over opponents ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game last season: No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 15 Louisville, No. 24 Navy, No. 18 Army, No. 9 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Penn State. The CFP victory over Penn State was the 14th ranked win of the Freeman era at Notre Dame, more than any other Irish head coach in the first three years of his tenure, and tied for the most of any FBS program over the last three years (Georgia, 14).

Notre Dame owned the most wins against AP ranked teams in 2024, with a 7-1 record. No other team faced more AP-ranked teams in 2024 than Notre Dame’s eight.

Among teams ranked in the final AP Top 25, Notre Dame notched four wins, the most for Notre Dame since 2002 (four). Notre Dame’s three wins over teams ranked in the final Top 10 is the most for the program since 1990 (three).

With the conclusion of the 2024 season, Notre Dame was first in pass efficiency defense (104.4), first in turnovers gained (33), first in defensive touchdowns (6), first in blocked kicks (6), second in fumbles recovered (14), second in blocked punts (3), fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19), fifth in turnover margin (1.13), seventh in kickoff return defense (15.61), ninth in first downs (326), 10th in scoring offense (36.1) and 11th in total defense (307.4).

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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