SOUTH BEND, IN — Notre Dame is No. 4 in the latest AP College Football Poll, and head coach Marcus Freeman is steering the Fighting Irish toward the College Football Playoff and, he hopes, a return trip to the national championship game. Jerome Bettis believes Freeman is the right man to get them there.
Jerome Bettis, the former Notre Dame running back and Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers, weighed in on Freeman, the Irish’s independent status, and what it will take to lift the National Championship trophy finally.
Notre Dame’s lone appearance in the national championship game under Freeman came in 2024, when the Irish fell short against Ohio State. The same questions return every fall: Is the schedule strong enough? And does playing outside a major conference hurt Notre Dame’s chances of reaching the sport’s biggest stage?
With the playoff field growing, the Irish may not need a conference home to compete for a title. Bettis made that clear.
Some have asked in recent years whether Freeman can deliver a national championship; Bettis did not hesitate.
“He’s definitely the guy,” Bettis told Nitecast Media. “I mean, he’s doing all the right things. He’s recruiting the talent, all those special things you need to do. But you’ve got to get lucky. You’ve got to have the guys healthy all through the season.“
Bettis added that even with talent and recruiting in place, a championship run also depends on breaks no coach controls.
“You need a little bit of luck on your side,” he said. “So with the Fighting Irish, they always have a little luck.”
As the playoff expands, the debate over whether Notre Dame should join a conference has only grown louder. Supporters say a league schedule would strengthen the Irish’s résumé and earn them more respect. Bettis disagrees.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “When you talk about being respected, you’ve got to go out and earn respect. So whether they believe in you or not, when you hit the field, if you go out there and take care of business, they will respect you.“
For him, the answer is on the field, not in the schedule on paper or in what critics will sell to fans on television or across social media.
“It’s just a matter of going out there and taking care of the things that you can take care of,” Bettis said. “I don’t think they need to be in a conference. That won’t make them a better football team. I think they’re fine where they are, but they’ve got to win. And then when they do get in the playoffs, they’ve got to earn the respect.”
If Notre Dame Ever Did Join the Big Ten or SEC?
Strength of schedule is the other piece of the argument, and the SEC and Big Ten are the conferences most often held up as the standard. When asked which league would suit Notre Dame best if the Irish ever changed course, Bettis said they could not go wrong with either.
“Big Ten or the SEC, you’re not going to go wrong there,” he said. “But I think with their proximity, with the Big Ten, I mean, they’re closer in terms of proximity to probably eight of the Big Ten schools.“
For Bettis, fit isn’t the question. The question is whether the Fighting Irish would actually do it.
“I don’t think that is a question about where they would fit in,” he said. “It’s just if they would actually do it.”
Bettis’ message comes down to three things: Freeman has the program pointed the right way, the Irish can keep their independence, and the rest comes down to winning, staying healthy, and getting a break or two. At No. 4, Notre Dame is in position to test that theory again in the playoff, with a chance to turn last chapter’s near miss into the trophy the program has chased for decades.
