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3 takeaways from Notre Dame’s nail-biting win over Cal

By Chris Peterson

Sep 17, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish and California Bears players reach for a pass on the last play of the game at Notre Dame Stadium. The pass fell incomplete and Notre Dame won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish and California Bears players reach for a pass on the last play of the game at Notre Dame Stadium. The pass fell incomplete and Notre Dame won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame football was inches away from falling to 0-4 under Marcus Freeman but a win is a win and here are three takeaways from the win over Cal. 

An ugly win sure is better than a pretty loss. Some coach has probably said that at some point and it’s true, especially for Notre Dame football on Saturday.

The Irish survived, thanks to an incomplete Hail Mary on the final play of the game, but despite trailing as the double-digit favorite again, Notre Dame football rallied for an important 24-17 win.

Surely, some will view it as a sign of trouble for the Irish but it was the first start for Drew Pyne, and for the Irish, it was about finding a way to win the first one. Now, it’s about getting the next one but sometimes, when you are struggling, the first win is the most difficult.

Notre Dame can’t get ahead of itself and there were some worrisome signs on Saturday (like all the penalties). This is also a team playing with its backup quarterback so expectations need to be tempered.

Here are three takeaways from Notre Dame football’s win over Cal.

Marcus Freeman needed it in the worst way

The new head coach for the Irish couldn’t afford an 0-4 start. 3-0 was bad enough and losing to Cal as a 13-point favorite would have been a nightmare. The sluggish offense is already going to start hurting recruiting and the product on the field hasn’t matched the offseason hype.

Freeman is known for being a good defensive coordinator and a really good recruiter. But he’s going to have to prove it all over again because the defense will have to carry this team and he’s going to have to ward off threats to the 2023 and 2024 recruiting class after this poor start.

The win over Cal helps though. It at least stemmed the negative momentum building.

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