No. 7 seed Notre Dame is set to play No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Fighting Irish advanced to the game by beating No. 6 Penn State 27-24 in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman had extra motivation before the CFP semifinal, becoming “angry” after Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin poked fun at the now 39-year-old coach’s youth.
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“I’m looking, I’m looking over here at Marcus,” Franklin said. “And how old are you now Marcus? 38, I mean, look at the hairline on this guy. I mean, envious of his hairline in a lot of ways. But Marcus has done, done a phenomenal job.”
Franklin also took a shot at Notre Dame being an independent football program, arguing all teams should be in a conference.
During a joint press conference with Freeman on Sunday morning, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day knew better than to irk his opponent. Day praised Freeman for his career with OSU and the job he’s done at Notre Dame.
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“Everybody at Ohio State respects Marcus and the fact that he went to Ohio State and had a great career there and certainly have a lot of respect for what he’s done in his coaching career and what he’s doing,” Day said, per Chase Brown with Eleven Warriors.
“He’s a tremendous coach and does an unbelievable job.”
Reporters and fans noticed Day’s attitude toward Freeman compared to Franklin before the Orange Bowl. Fans on social media criticized Franklin again for his pregame comments.
“Day has more class than Franklin,” wrote a fan.
“That’s why they’re here and Franklin isn’t,” suggested a poster.
“It’s the anti-Franklin Shouldn’t matter. There’s enough here – don’t need extra motivation,” commented a fan.
“No hairline talk,” asked another.
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