Marcus Freeman explains lack of involvement for Jeremiyah Love in loss to Miami

Coming into the 2025 season, Notre Dame had questions at quarterback with redshirt freshman CJ Carr taking over as the starter. Where head coach Marcus Freeman had nothing to fear, seemingly, was running back, with star Jeremiyah Love returning to South Bend. Then, he seemingly wasn’t a focus of the gameplan against Miami.

With it being Carr’s first ever start in a hostile environment, the expectation was that the Irish would lean on the running game. However, Love would only carry the ball four times going into halftime. That was a surprise to many, and after the loss, Freeman explained that lack of involvement.

“You know, we had our plan going into the game,” Marcus Freeman said. “The problem with some of our easy throws, we weren’t getting enough to get a first down. We had a couple three-and-outs. I think at halftime we got together and said, ‘Okay.’ We had a plan to get J- Love in the pass game and some of those situations.’”

Jeremiyah Love would finish the game with 10 carries for 33 yards. He also had four receptions for another 26 yards. Fellow running back Jadarian Price carried the ball six times for 45 yards. Then, CJ Carr, including sacks, had 11 carries for 16 yards and a touchdown. Much of that came in a second half when Notre Dame was trying to come back from a two-score deficit and was therefore forced to open up their offense.

“They did a good job. They did a good job covering him and doing those things,” Freeman said. “We made an intentional effort at halftime to say, ‘Okay, let’s either take away some of those reads or find intentional ways to get the ball in his hands.’ He made some good things happen.”

Notre Dame would heavily lean on RPOs in the loss. That gave Carr the option to throw quick screens and slants, or hand the ball off, depending on the coverage he saw. More often than not, particularly early in the game, Miami took the best option Notre Dame had away, forcing those quick throws. That included on Carr’s interception, which he misread, and the throw got blown up for the tipped interception. Had he handed to Love, there was room for a big play. That would set up a Miami field goal in a game they won by three points.

“I think I need to continue to get a better feel for what our offense needs in the moment,” Carr said. “A lot of the time, it’s going to be Jeremiyah Love. On the pick, should have just given him the ball specifically and cost us a big play. We’ve just got to keep growing.”

Ultimately, the loss to Miami is just one game. That’s something Notre Dame was able to overcome last season, to a less prestigious team. Notre Dame can do the same thing this year too. They’ll have to figure out how to get the ball to Love fast, though, with a tough game against Texas A&M coming up in two weeks.