SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Notre Dame is set to open spring practice Friday, with head coach Marcus Freeman addressing the media Wednesday and outlining the mindset driving the program heading into the 2026 season.
The Irish missed the 12-team College Football Playoff last season after a final-day rankings swap placed Miami ahead of Notre Dame. The team also did not play in a bowl game, ending the year earlier than expected.
‘Leave No Doubt’ becomes team motto
Freeman said the program is channeling that playoff exclusion into a new team motto: “Leave No Doubt.” He said the key to using that moment as motivation is ownership rather than blame.
“How do I use that situation that happened in December and not lose it,” Freeman said. “I think you lose it when you blame somebody else for the situation you have. It is so easy to blame, that’s human nature. Let’s blame the CFP committee. Let’s blame XYZ for what happened. But when we own it, we left doubt. We sleep in the bed that we make. We left doubt that we should be in the playoffs. Then I think you can use it. You can use it in motivation. You can use it in terms of everyday struggles.”
Freeman said the motto applies beyond postseason positioning, extending to daily competition for starting spots and individual performance.
“I want them to use it today,” Freeman said. “You left no doubt that you made the most of this opportunity you had today. We had football school today. You leave no doubt that you were the best version of yourself today.”
Marcus Freeman said the extended offseason has put Notre Dame “at a different level.”Extended offseason seen as a development advantage
Notre Dame will enter spring practice with more preparation time than in recent years, having not played deep into January as the program did when it reached the national championship game two seasons ago. Freeman said the additional weeks have produced noticeable results.
“I probably got up here last year after we played the national championship game and if you would have asked a similar question I would have said yeah there’s benefits of playing that late in the season because of the practices you go through,” Freeman said. “But this has been a unique offseason for me to see because we’ve never had this much time. We’ve never had this development of the full eight weeks of being in the weight room, the meetings, the football schools, the individual drills. We’re at a different level than I’ve previously seen us at.”
Getting new players to feel last season’s pain
Notre Dame brought in more than 30 new players this offseason. Freeman said getting those players to embrace the “Leave No Doubt” motto — despite not experiencing last season’s playoff snub firsthand — requires building a shared sense of identity.
Freeman compared the expectation to a family relationship.
“There’s expectations in relationships,” Freeman said. “At least that goes for my house, me and my wife. I’ve often said if she does not like somebody, I might not dislike that person, but I can’t be friends with them. I have to go home and see her every day. There’s expectations here. So, we have to get the new coaches, the new players, the ones that weren’t here to understand that relationship. We’re in a relationship. This is a family. This is a brotherhood. So certain things that have happened in our past, they happened to you too, right? You have to be able to keep that pain. You have to feel that pain that we had when they told us that we didn’t make the playoff.”
Notre Dame’s 2026 Blue-Gold Game will take place Saturday, April 25, at Notre Dame Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Freeman said getting new players to embrace the “Leave No Doubt” motto despite not experiencing last season’s playoff snub — requires a shared sense of identity
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