Major College Football Head Coach 'Angry' at Opposing Head Coach Before CFP Semifinal
No. 6 seed Penn State and No. 7 seed Notre Dame shouldn't have needed extra motivation before their matchup in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night as they had a spot in the College Football Playoff national championship on the line.
However, PSU head coach James Franklin gave Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman more reasons to want to win at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
During their joint press conference on Wednesday, Franklin made a couple of points that irked the third-year head coach of the Fighting Irish. Franklin said all college football programs should join a conference, including Notre Dame. He also mentioned Freeman's youthfulness.
"It'll be, it'll be a great game," Franklin said. "And we're really, really excited about competing. I'm looking, I'm looking over here at Marcus. And how old are you now Marcus? 38, I mean, look at the hairline on this guy. I mean, envious of his hairline in a lot of ways. But Marcus has done, done a phenomenal job."
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Freeman smiled during the roast at the press conference, but he didn't take Franklin's words as a joke.
Per Pete Sampson of The Athletic, Freeman was upset after the press conference when he addressed the team inside the Diplomat Hotel on Hollywood Beach after the press conference.
"(Freeman) was angry," senior safety Xavier Watts said. "He was angry with the press conference thing, whatever was going on between that. He was mad about that. All the anger went toward us and that anger went onto the field.”
Penn State looked like the angrier team in the first half, pushing Notre Dame around in the trenches for the first 30 minutes. At halftime, Freeman said the Fighting Irish needed to be more physical by running the ball and stopping PSU's rushing attack.
The anger of the Fighting Irish was palpable in the second half, with running back Jeremiyah Love's ridiculous effort on a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter being a case in point.
The Fighting Irish eventually outlasted PSU 27-24 to advance to the CFP national championship.
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