Will Notre Dame's Winning Ways Off the Bye Under Marcus Freeman Continue Against Texas A&M?

Some coaches, such as Kentucky's Mark Stoops, are terrible off the bye, while others are flat-out amazing. Doesn't matter what the level is. High school, college, or the NFL. Fortunately, for Notre Dame, head coach Marcus Freeman is excellent off the bye. You can even call him perfect, at least during the regular season.

When given 12 or more days of rest -- otherwise known as the bye -- Freeman is a perfect 5-0 during the regular season as the Fighting Irish head coach, and if you include the college football playoff and bowl games, Freeman is 9-1.

His only loss was his first game as head coach back on January 1st, 2022, in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State shortly after Brian Kelly left South Bend for LSU.

Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in last year's National Championship technically doesn't count as a bye since Notre Dame played the Buckeyes 11 days after beating Penn State in the CFP Semifinals.

Pretty impressive, right? I'd say so. And with Notre Dame coming off the bye this week, ND fans should expect that trend to continue on Saturday against Texas A&M.

I'm not implying that's the main reason the Fighting Irish will bounce back, but if there's one thing we've learned over the years about Freeman, it's that he knows how to get his guys ready to play when given extra time to prepare.

I'm aware Freeman did begin his regular-season coaching career 0-2 after Notre Dame lost to Ohio State and Marshall back in 2022, but this team is much, much better. And despite losing to Miami (FL) to begin the season, Notre Dame didn't play all that badly.

First-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock needs to feature the star running back

Jeremiyah Love a whole lot more after the potential first-round pick and Heisman Finalist finished with just 14 touches two weeks ago, but assuming that happens, ND is in a great position to bounce back in its home opener.

And maybe most importantly, freshman quarterback CJ Carr looked good in his first college start on the road against Miami.

And that's not exactly an easy place to play either. I expect that to carry over on Saturday, even against an Aggies defense that has yet to allow more than 172 yards through the air in a game.

This game might be close through three quarters, but ND should pull away in the fourth quarter to get its first victory.