Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman Makes CFP History As First African-American National Championship Coach

With Notre Dame’s win over Penn State, Marcus Freeman becomes the first black coach to reach the National Championship game.

College football as we once knew it is almost unrecognizable but Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame have stayed the course and secured a National Championship spot. In the first year of the expanded playoffs that jumped from only four teams to 12, the usual faces are nowhere to be found.

Notre Dame sent Georgia packing in the Sugar Bowl while Alabama, LSU, and others failed to make a playoff spot.

Last night, James Franklin and Penn State faced Notre Dame with more than a playoff spot on the line, the winner of the Franklin-Freeman-coached game would be the first black head coach to reach the National Championship game.

Despite Franklin’s somewhat cocky energy during a press interview, Penn State came up short.

With the game tied in the last minute, Notre Dame’s kicker delivered the final blow to win 27-24.

According to CBS Sports, Freeman acknowledged becoming the first African-American coach to make the big game but wanted the focus on “we,” not “he.”

“I’ve said this before: I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman said after the Orange Bowl. “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter, great people — continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this. But this ain’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”

Now Marcus Freeman must get ready to face the winner of tonight’s Cotton Bowl featuring Ohio State Vs. Texas. No matter who wins, Notre Dame will have their work cut out for them but that’s the price for making it to the big game.