Freeman, who was asked to join ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show before the college football national championship game between Miami (FL) and Indiana, was tasked with choosing the winner of the contest. GameDay traditionally ends with the hosts and guests making a choice.
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Freeman began by saying that, as a resident of the state of Indiana, he was leaning in that direction, but then stopped and reminded the audience that Miami will visit South Bend in November. Freeman smiled when he said he didn’t want to give material to the Hurricanes’ bulletin board, noting that he had used the pundits who were critical of Notre Dame as a motivating factor for the Fighting Irish.
Then he finished by saying that his heart chose Indiana but his head was going for Miami.
This then led to an exchange of banter in which retired Alabama coach Nick Saban told Freeman that he didn’t need to pick any teams, and Freeman objected, saying that host Pat McAfee said he had to.
The current Notre Dame coach also praised former Fighting Irish center Pat Coogan, who now plays for the Hoosiers.
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Freeman did his best to toe a diplomatic line, and we’ll see if Miami even remembers this in November.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman Picks His Champion on GameDay