Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame’s bye week 'wasn’t an off week'

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The Fighting Irish are back to business after a much-needed bye week — and head coach Marcus Freeman made it clear, it wasn’t an “off week.”

Notre Dame, ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll, heads to Massachusetts this weekend to face Boston College (1-7). Freeman said the team spent the break working hard on fine-tuning details and preparing for both the Eagles and Navy’s triple-option offense coming up soon.

“The challenge was, how do we elevate during a bye week?” Freeman said. “I remind them, it’s not an off week… We just didn’t have a game. We had to elevate during the bye week, and I was pleased with the way we prepared.”

Freeman also had high praise for Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien, calling him a tough-minded leader with NFL experience who has his team playing better than their record shows.