(Notre Dame)–  Marcus Freeman says his Notre Dame football team knows it is one win away from the College Football Playoff, but that’s not something his team can think about right now.

“Just continuously remind them of the challenge we have ahead of us on Saturday,” stated Freeman at his weekly press conference Monday. “That’s what’s going to control the noise. If you don’t understand how good this opponent is, you don’t understand how much of a challenge this opponent will bring on Saturday, then the fault lies within yourself. That’s what I’m going to continue to remind our guys.”

The Irish close the regular season Saturday at 6-5 USC, a team that has ruined its share of Notre Dame seasons.

“I think back to two years ago, and I think we were on a five-game win streak,” recalls Freeman of a 38-27 loss to the Trojans two years ago. “We had won five in a row. We had a lot of hopes if we win this game, what bowl game we were going to. They obviously crushed those hopes. Yeah, they were good. They had playmakers. They had a great team. But they beat us.

“You guys hear me talk about ‘keep the pain.’ That’s one that sticks with me for a long time. It’s one I’m gonna make sure the guys in this program understand. Because I don’t care if you were here or not, there’s certain expectations when you’re in a relationship. We’re all in a relationship together. The pain that I felt as the head coach leaving there in 2022, they’re all going to understand no matter if you were here or not.”

Despite their record, the Trojans have held a fourth-quarter lead in every game they’ve played this season, including Saturday’s 19-13 win over archrival UCLA.

“They’ve (USC) had one loss at home, and it was the overtime loss to Penn State,” noted Freeman. “They’ve led in the fourth quarter in every game this year. And so, I think in four or five losses they were leading within three minutes of the end of the game. So, it’s going to be a challenge versus a really good team. And we have to prepare in a way that gives us an opportunity to get the outcome we want.”

Saturday’s kickoff in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is set for 3:30 ET. The game will be televised by CBS.