Never say never, I guess, but Freeman by all accounts really rethought his process after Northern Illinois. They now have structure in place to address the potential for upsets by lesser teams.

Plus, culturally, I just think TGS got very real for the team in 2024 and that it will now carry through the program.

There may come a day after ND finally brings home a championship or two where the team's urgency declines and he'll have to learn new lessons. Not this year though.