NEW ORLEANS — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman mentioned his group met Wednesday morning after studying of the attack on Bourbon Street that killed 15 folks and injured dozens extra, working by way of the feelings after such a traumatic occasion but in addition nonetheless making ready to win a important sport.
“The first a part of that assembly was to mourn and pray for our nation,” Freeman instructed ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on Wednesday’s “SportsCenter.” “But the tip of the assembly was to redirect our focus to making ready for this sport.”
Notre Dame was set to play Georgia in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal on the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Wednesday evening, however the game was rescheduled for 4 p.m. ET on Thursday within the wake of the assault, which the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism.
Freeman mentioned his precedence was not utilizing the extra time earlier than kicking off towards Georgia to sport plan, however as an alternative to “bodily and mentally put together.”
Georgia spent a lot of Wednesday underneath lock-down orders in its group resort on Canal Street, simply blocks from the place a Texas man drove a truck right into a crowd of Bourbon Street revelers earlier than being killed in a firefight with police. At least one Georgia pupil was amongst these killed.
Freeman mentioned he had not spoken with Georgia coach Kirby Smart as of Wednesday evening, however that athletic administrators Pete Bevacqua and Josh Brooks had been in common communication to make sure the sport may very well be performed safely.
The groups will take the sector on the Caesars Superdome with a date towards Penn State in a CFP semifinal on the road.
“We have to know there is a sport to play and a possibility for each applications to play within the school soccer quarterfinals and we have now to ensure we’re prepared,” Freeman mentioned.
Georgia, the No. 2 seed, might be taking part in with out beginning quarterback Carson Beck, whereas Notre Dame, the No. 7 seed and contemporary off an emphatic win over Indiana within the opening spherical, is searching for its first nationwide title since 1988.
Still, Freeman mentioned each groups had been clearly conscious of the bigger implications of the sport within the metropolis rocked by the assault.
“In the hardest moments, the tradition of any program, of a nation, are revealed,” Freeman mentioned. “I’ve lots of religion we’ll rally across the metropolis of New Orleans.”
