Marcus Freeman’s first year was weird. There’s really no other way to put it. If you sat down a screenwriter and asked them to script the 2022 Notre Dame football season, they’d probably get fired for making the plot too unrealistic. Think about it. You start the year by nearly toppling a juggernaut in Columbus, then you lose to Marshall at home, and somehow you finish the year by beating the breaks off a top-five Clemson team under the lights. It was a year of extreme whiplash that fundamentally reshaped how fans viewed the post-Brian Kelly era.
The vibes were high, then they were underground, then they were back in the stratosphere.
Most people look at the 9-4 record and see a "fine" transition year. But that's not the whole story. Honestly, it was a season defined by a backup quarterback, a literal "human wrecking ball" at tight end, and a defensive front that finally started to look like the elite units we see in the SEC. It was messy, it was frustrating, and at times, it was pure, unadulterated chaos.
Why 2022 Notre Dame Football Started in a Total Hole
September was brutal. I mean, truly soul-crushing for the South Bend faithful. When Notre Dame traveled to Ohio Stadium to take on the Buckeyes, the defense actually showed up. They held CJ Stroud and that high-powered offense to 21 points. People were convinced. "Freeman is the guy," we all said. Then, the Marshall game happened.
Losing 26-21 to the Thundering Herd at home is the kind of thing that gets coaches on the hot seat before their first month is over. Tyler Buchner, who was supposed to be the dual-threat savior of the offense, went down with a high grade AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder. He was out. Suddenly, the Irish were 0-2 and staring at a lost season with Drew Pyne—a guy many thought was a career backup—under center.
The narrative shifted instantly from "New Era" to "Are we going to make a bowl game?" It's easy to forget how much pressure was on Marcus Freeman in those two weeks. He was the first coach in the history of the program to start 0-3 if you count the Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State the year prior.
The Drew Pyne Paradox
The Drew Pyne era of 2022 Notre Dame football is one of the strangest stretches in recent memory. Pyne wasn't the biggest guy. He didn't have a cannon. But he was gritty as hell. After the disastrous start, the Irish rattled off wins against Cal and North Carolina. The win in Chapel Hill was actually impressive—the offense put up 45 points and looked like it finally found an identity.
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But then came the Stanford game.
Losing to a 1-4 Stanford team at home was arguably worse than the Marshall loss. It was a game where the offense looked completely stagnant. The Irish couldn't run the ball effectively, and the passing game was out of sync. At that point, the fan base was split. Half the people wanted to see what else was on the roster, and the other half was just praying for the season to end so they could focus on recruiting. It was a low point.
The Night the Season Flipped: Clemson Comes to Town
If you want to understand why people still talk about the 2022 Notre Dame football team despite the four losses, you have to look at November 5th. Clemson was ranked No. 4. They were supposed to steamroll an inconsistent Irish team.
Instead, it was a bloodbath in the other direction.
The atmosphere at Notre Dame Stadium that night was electric. It felt like the 1990s again. Prince Kollie returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, and the stadium literally shook. Benjamin Morrison, a true freshman cornerback who would end up being one of the best in the country, had two interceptions, including a 96-yard pick-six that basically ended the game.
Notre Dame didn't just win; they bullied Clemson. They ran for 263 yards. Logan Diggs and Audric Estimé looked like they were playing against a high school team. It was a 35-14 statement that proved Freeman’s "Golden Standard" wasn't just a catchy recruiting slogan—it had teeth. This game changed the trajectory of the program's recruiting and gave the administration the confidence that the "player-led" culture was actually working.
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The Michael Mayer Factor
We can't talk about this season without mentioning Michael Mayer. He was the entire passing game. Seriously. He finished the year with 67 catches for over 800 yards and 9 touchdowns. There were games where opposing defenses knew exactly where the ball was going, and it just didn't matter. Mayer was a mismatch nightmare, a guy who could block like a tackle and run routes like a wideout.
He broke nearly every tight end record at Notre Dame, which is saying something given the school's history at that position. Without Mayer, that 9-4 record probably looks like 6-7. He was the safety valve that kept Drew Pyne afloat.
Defensive Growth and the Benjamin Morrison Breakout
While the offense was a roller coaster, Al Golden’s defense actually became a very cohesive unit by the end of October. Isaiah Foskey was a monster off the edge, eventually breaking Justin Tuck's career sack record. But the real story was the secondary.
Benjamin Morrison wasn't even a starter at the beginning of the year. By the end of the 2022 Notre Dame football season, he was a Freshman All-American with six interceptions. His performance against Boston College—three picks in one game—was legendary.
The defense allowed the Irish to stay in games they had no business being in. They were aggressive, they forced turnovers, and they played with a chip on their shoulder that was missing in the early weeks. Even in the regular-season finale against USC, where Caleb Williams basically secured his Heisman trophy, the Irish defense fought until the final whistle.
The Gator Bowl Shootout
The season ended with a wild 45-38 win over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. Tyler Buchner actually returned for this game, and it was... chaotic. He threw two pick-sixes but also accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing). It was a microcosm of the whole year: ugly, high-stress, but ultimately successful.
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Beating a ranked Gamecocks team that had just knocked off Tennessee and Clemson was a massive way to head into the offseason. It validated the "never quit" attitude that Freeman had been preaching.
What We Learned from the 2022 Notre Dame Football Campaign
Looking back, this season served as a bridge. It was the transition from the rigid, process-oriented Brian Kelly era to the more emotive, recruiting-heavy Marcus Freeman era. It proved that Notre Dame could still beat anyone on a given Saturday, but it also exposed a lack of depth and consistency that needed to be addressed.
The issues were clear:
- A lack of a "Gamebreaker" wide receiver.
- Inconsistent quarterback play.
- Vulnerability to "let-down" games against inferior opponents.
However, the foundation was laid. The 2022 team showed that the culture was strong enough to survive an 0-2 start and a devastating injury to the starting QB. That’s not nothing.
Actionable Takeaways for the Future
If you’re a fan or a student of the game looking at how this season impacts the current state of the Irish, keep these points in mind:
- Recruiting is the Floor: The 2022 season proved you can't win on "spirit" alone. Freeman’s subsequent focus on elite QB recruiting (like landing Sam Hartman in the portal and CJ Carr in high school) was a direct reaction to the struggles of 2022.
- The Portal is Necessary: Notre Dame realized they couldn't just rely on four-year developmental players at key positions like WR and QB.
- Defensive Identity Matters: Al Golden’s scheme works when he has a shutdown corner. Finding the "next Benjamin Morrison" is now a yearly priority for the staff.
- Schedule Context: Don't overreact to Week 1. The loss to Ohio State didn't define the season—the response to the Marshall loss did.
The 2022 Notre Dame football season wasn't a championship year, but it was perhaps the most important "growing pains" season in the last two decades of Irish history. It forced the program to look in the mirror and decide what kind of team they wanted to be in the modern era of the College Football Playoff.