Marcus Freeman describes how Notre Dame's preparation changes for Week 1 game vs. Miami

Notre Dame and Miami will headline Week 1 as one of the marquee matchups to begin the 2025 college football season. In the meantime, it’s business as usual in South Bend for head coach Marcus Freeman and company.

Fresh off a run to the national championship game, Freeman isn’t preparing his team any differently that he would for any season opener. However, the Notre Dame coach doesn’t believe he’ll have to motivate his team for this matchup during fall camp.

“I hope the mental approach to the season doesn’t change no matter who your opponent is,” Freeman told Joel Klatt during a recent sit-down interview. “I was asked that as we were getting ready to play Navy my second year in Dublin, Ireland, and somebody had asked me, ‘Is it more difficult to motivate them to play Navy than it is to play Ohio State?’ I hope not.

“We’re getting you get 12 guaranteed opportunities. That’s all we get, right? And so to overlook any opponent is a disservice to the game of football. For me, I look at that big game and say, ‘Okay, what do I need to do to prepare this team for that big one?'”

One of the biggest questions the Fighting Irish have received this offseason is, who will replace Riley Leonard under center? Notre Dame’s quarterback competition is down to Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr — neither of which have experience starting on the collegiate stage. Marcus Freeman is well-aware of this fact ahead of the 2025 season.

“How do we create as many high-pressure situations during training camp, so that they’re not panicking? All of a sudden, you’re down there in South Florida getting ready to play the University of Miami,” Freeman said. “For me, it kind of plays with my mind on how we prepare this group, depending on what personnel we have and the opponent we’re playing.”

Freeman has hinted in the past that he’s considered a two-quarterback system for the upcoming season, citing that he’d do anything to help coach his team to victory. He said there might even be two quarterbacks on the field at the same time in certain sets. His comments to Klatt seems to be thinking along those some lines.

The Week 1 matchup against Miami is set for Sunday, Aug. 31 with the opening kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.