Marshall got paid big money to come beat Notre Dame

The worst part about Notre Dame’s home loss to Marshall on Saturday is that they paid good money for the privilege of being beaten.

The Fighting Irish lost 26-21 at home against the Thundering Herd at Notre Dame Stadium. Schools like Notre Dame typically have to pay a lesser opponent good money to entice them to come play a tough road game that will likely result in a loss.

In this case, Notre Dame paid Marshall $1.25 million to come play the game. And then they got beat. That’s a big double whammy.

Notre Dame’s quarterback play was a big problem in the game.

Starting QB Tyler Buchner threw two interceptions. Backup Drew Pyne threw for a touchdown and an interception. The real backbreaker was Buchner’s second interception, which was a pick-six with just over four minutes left. Pyne followed with an interception on the ensuing series.

New head coach Marcus Freeman is now 0-3 at Notre Dame. By comparison, Brian Kelly had only lost three games total over his final two seasons before bolting for LSU.

Brian Kelly's final two seasons at Notre Dame: 21-3

Marcus Freeman's first three games at Notre Dame: 0-3

Not ideal

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) September 10, 2022

The Fighting Irish’s loss at Ohio State in their opener was more than understandable. The loss against Marshall looks really bad.

The big issue for Notre Dame is their inability to score.