SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame’s path to Friday’s College Football Playoff opener against Indiana was lined with a series of teachable moments, if not outright blessings from on high.
In several cases, going all the way back to Beaux Collins’ shove at Texas A&M and including Jordan Clark’s headbutt against Louisville, penalty flags for unsportsmanlike conduct could have been thrown, should have been thrown, but weren’t.
The most recent brush with potential ejection came in the regular-season finale at USC. Already without nose tackle Howard Cross III due to an ankle sprain, the Irish easily could have lost defensive tackle Rylie Mills after CBS replays clearly showed him punching fallen offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon.
Incredibly, 30-year official Ron Snodgrass and his Big Ten crew missed the goal-line exchange entirely, even as Jayden Maiava’s 1-yard quarterback sneak went under video review. CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, a former NFL referee, noted during the broadcast that personal fouls aren’t reviewable.
Had Mills’ punch to the facemask been noticed in real time, Steratore said, an “instant disqualification” would have resulted.
“If you know Rylie, you know that’s like an extreme,” Irish linebacker Jack Kiser said of his fellow captain and roommate. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him … and I don’t even know if he really had the intent to do that, but we got very fortunate that nothing happened from that.”
Losing Mills for the final 42 minutes might have flipped the script on an eventual 49-35 escape job by Notre Dame. USC gashed the Irish defense for 557 total yards as it was.
Replays also showed Pregnon, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound left tackle tugging at Mills’ left knee behind the pile. The out-of-character response from Mills was one of retaliation, but that’s typically the action that gets flagged.
“If you watch the video, the guy (is) tugging his leg,” Kiser said. “It’s a high-emotion, high-stress environment. Stuff like that is going to happen. (Mills) is going to learn from it.”
Kiser paused and smiled.
“He forgot he left his ‘Hulk’ hands at home,” Kiser added.
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A fifth-year graduate student, Mills wasn’t eager to rehash the play from Nov. 30 when it the subject was raised this week.
He’d already been reminded of his sin enough times during team meetings.
“Coach (Marcus) Freeman always shows plays during the week from other teams, other college teams, NFL teams,” Mills said. “We call it ‘Wise Men,’ things you can learn from. I think that (punch) was maybe thrown up on some things we can learn from.”
Mills, tied with sophomore cornerback Christian Gray for most penalties (four) on the Irish defense, heard the message loud and clear.
“Like Coach Freeman always tell us, no one’s worth 15 yards,” Mills said. “I don’t want to put the team in that position. That’s something (where) I don’t want us to lose field advantage. Those are things that can affect the game. You just don’t want to have that happen.”
No olive branches were extended between Mills and Pregnon in the wake of the no-harm, no-foul clash.
“We didn’t say anything,” said Mills, who played a career-high 64 defensive snaps against the Trojans. “However you want to cut the play or whatever, I think whatever happened, happened. We dealt with it as a team. I’m moving on from it.”
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Such was the emotional tenor of that afternoon at the Coliseum that even Notre Dame receivers coach Mike Brown drew a 15-yard penalty for sideline misconduct. That came midway through the fourth quarter with the Irish clinging to a seven-point lead.
Brown didn’t like the way USC defensive backs were holding receiver Jordan Faison and let Snodgrass’ crew hear about it. Notre Dame punted four plays later and needed back-to-back pick-six interceptions from Gray and Xavier Watts to repel their ancient rival.
“This is something that Coach Freeman preaches all year round—no is worth 15 (yards),” Kiser said. “Yeah, it’s playoff time, but that’s always the standard. Know where the boundaries are, know where the line is and be respectful of that.”
Freeman has been over this ground before in his three seasons at the helm for Notre Dame. A former linebacker and defensive coordinator, he wants his team to play with emotion and urgency but unflagging discipline as well.
Irish players are supposed to have plenty of “dog” in them, but there’s a limit to how far that leash extends.
Those transgressions for Mills and Brown against USC were just the latest reminder of the importance of maintaining poise at all costs.
“They’ll be the first ones to tell you that,” Freeman said. “Nobody’s worth 15 yards. We can’t react to a situation and let it hurt our team. That’s what both of them were. They were poor decisions in terms of the way they reacted to a situation. And those are the first two guys that will own it.”
Mills and Brown are hardly alone when it comes to accountability. That message flows from the top and is reinforced daily.
“That’s what I love about this program,” Freeman said. “I don’t need to demean you and get all over you. At times I will, but these guys own it. They understand it, and we all have to learn from it. It’s a reminder for me as the head coach. Let’s make good decisions. No matter what happened the previous play or in the previous moment, we have to be smart in terms of how we react.”
Second-year safety Adon Shuler, the recipient of some “tough love” from Freeman after an unsportsmanlike penalty against Miami (Ohio), paid his penance in the wake of that September blip.
“I knew it was a mistake on my part,” Shuler said. “I was just getting in the game and in the moment. Coach Freeman, he always talks about how nobody is bigger than the team, nobody is worth 15 yards. I apologized to the team and to coach. That just wasn’t good for my character.”
With the national championship struggle down to 12 teams, including Notre Dame, discipline could be the deciding factor.
“You have to be disciplined,” Shuler said. “Being disciplined is something I think we’re really good at and we just have to continue to be great at. Just going into the playoffs, every possession, every moment is such a big deal. We’re just making sure that we constantly stay in the right, stay in line, and let the refs handle it.”
The 2024 Irish rank 80th among FBS teams with 53.7 penalty yards per game. Their 5.8 penalties per game tie them for 65th with a group that includes No. 2 seed Georgia, which awaits the winner of Friday night’s game in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Night.
Indiana ranks 29th in penalty yards per game (43.8) and is tied for 16th in fewest penalties incurred (4.8).
Asked Wednesday about the possible “chippy” nature of a meeting between coach Curt Cignetti’s upstarts and a Notre Dame team riding a 10-game winning streak, Freeman shook his head.
“Listen, you’re talking about a college football playoff game,” he said. “Every college football team that’s in the playoff is going to have a chip on their shoulder. There isn’t going to be a lack of motivation for anybody.
“Every game we play, you have to control your emotions. It will be an emotional game. This is a big game; we all know that. But it’s still ultimately going to come down to execution and preparation. … That’s what matters the most.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
