No. 10 Notre Dame wants to ‘keep the pain of NIU’ in mind as it takes on 1-8 Florida State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman keeps reminding his players of the lessons from Week 2.

Be ready, be prepared and avoid the mirage by taking nothing for granted.

If that inexplicable early loss to Northern Illinois did anything for the Irish, it has steeled them for Saturday night’s matchup against reeling Florida State.

The Seminoles’ five-game losing streak and 1-8 record has taken the luster off what was supposed to be one of this weekend’s marquee matchups when the season began. And Freeman knows No. 10 Notre Dame (7-1) cannot afford another misstep if it hopes to make the expanded 12-team playoff field.

“It’s a mental preparation and a physical preparation, and we know what the result is when you don’t mentally prepare the right way,” Freeman said. “We know it and that’s why we say, ‘Keep the pain of NIU,’ because that’s a result of not having the right mindset.”

It has been an epic free fall for the Seminoles, who were snubbed from last season’s four-team playoff despite a 13-0 record and who started this season ranked in the top 10.

Nothing has gone as expected. Coach Mike Norvell’s team didn’t have just one early stumble — it lost its first three games before beating California and hasn’t won since. The Seminoles are 0-4 outside of Tallahassee, and a win at Notre Dame might be just the trick to salvage something from this season.

“I am shocked in where we are,” Norvell said Monday. “You look at some of the results we’ve faced, you look at some of the circumstances that have shown up, you go into a season and you have a picture in your mind of what things are going to look like. It really has been shocking some of the things that have evolved throughout this season.”

Freeman is equally surprised. And he wants his players to understand what they’re up against this week — a team with four straight strong recruiting classes that’s capable of beating anybody. Even a foe in the playoff picture.

“Listen, it’s a very talented football team, and it doesn’t take long to turn on the film and realize how talented they are,” Freeman said. “The record doesn’t reflect their talent. They’ve had to deal with some injuries, especially at quarterback, that has affected the outcome of their games. Our team must, and we will, respect the challenge Saturday night presents.”

The Irish don’t have a choice if they want to make the playoffs.

QB questions

Perhaps nothing has short-circuited Florida State’s season like the quarterback carousel.

D.J. Uiagalelei, the former Clemson and Oregon State starter, had surgery on his throwing hand after a loss to SMU in Game 5. Brock Glenn replaced Uiagalelei, and then Glenn was replaced by Luke Kromenhoek in the second quarter of a loss to Duke.

Glenn took most of the snaps in last week’s 35-11 loss to North Carolina, though Kromenhoek got in significant playing time. It’s unclear how Norvell will play it Saturday.

Matchup problems

In Notre Dame’s 51-14 victory over Navy two weeks ago, the Irish forced six turnovers. That’s not good news for Florida State, which ranks 132nd in the FBS with a minus-12 turnover margin and has been outscored 68-3 in points off turnovers.

While that has been a major problem all season for Florida State, it’s hardly the only one. The Seminoles rank 133rd in rushing yards per game (76.1), are averaging just 14.4 points and are 101st in passing yards per game (208.2) — not a good matchup against a defense that ranks No. 3 in defensive pass efficiency (96.25).

Finishing strong

Though Florida State will post its fifth losing season in seven years and could produce its lowest win total since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season (3-6) and its lowest full-season total since 1975 (3-8), Norvell believes a strong finishing kick could help turn the program around.

“For us, every game, every day, we’re recruiting,” he said. “We’re having those conversations with guys that are committed to us. We’re having conversations with guys that we’re going after. Man, we’re putting everything that we have into the growth for this program.

“Obviously it’s all going into the players we have to finish this season, and then it’s a focus on where we’re going and who we’re doing it with moving forward.”

Florida State (1-8) at No. 10 Notre Dame (7-1)

• Time/TV: 6:30 p.m Saturday, NBC-5.
• Line: Notre Dame by 26½.
• Series: Florida State leads 6-5.

Facts & figures

Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard is rushing for 67.4 yards per game and ranks fifth among FBS quarterbacks with 11 TD runs. … RB Jeremiyah Love has run for at least one TD in all eight games, and the Irish have rushed for a score in a school-record 11 straight games. … The Seminoles lead the nation with 18 fourth-down conversions and share the national lead with five blocked kicks (four field goals, one punt). … Notre Dame has won the last three meetings, including a 41-38 overtime victory in 2021 in Tallahassee.