In the first game of the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, Marcus Freeman led his Notre Dame team to victory, defeating Indiana 27-17 on Friday. Although Notre Dame ended with a 10-point win, the Fighting Irish took control of the game early. After quarterback Riley Leonard started a game with an interception, Notre Dame’s defense forced an interception by Indiana Kurtis Rourke. The Fighting Irish responded on their next offensive possession with a 98-yard touchdown run by Jeremiyah Love to take a 7-0 lead. From then on, Notre Dame held the lead.

Despite a resounding loss to Indiana, Freeman praised Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his program.

“I told Coach Cignetti after the game that I thought we were playing a great football team that showed they weren’t going to give up,” Freeman told reporters. “Some good teaching opportunities for us. “We’re going to use the fourth quarter defensively, as far as special teams goes, we need to learn from some situations that happened in this game.”

Freeman revealed before the match that he had Googled Cignetti to learn more about his background before the game.

Freeman’s studies were clearly worth it. Facing a resurgent Indiana program that finished 11-1 during the regular season, the Fighting Irish completely stifled the Hoosiers’ offense and game plan. Indiana came into the game ranked second in the FBS in offense and second in total defense. During the regular season, they averaged over 43 points per game, but only scored three points until the final two minutes of the game.

As Freeman said, Cignetti still deserves credit for his program’s success this season. In his first season as coach of a Power 4 team, Cignetti led Indiana to its first CFP appearance. He led them from a 3-9 record a year ago to a team that won all but one regular-season game. Indiana was ultimately outclassed by Notre Dame, but they have already made more progress with the program in one season than many thought possible.