How Pat Coogan's fiery speeches are fueling Notre Dame's College Football Playoff run

It started when Pat Coogan didnt, which is sort of the point.

Because when Notre Dame kicked off the longest football season in school history back at Texas A&M, Coogan gave the same kind of juiced-up, four-letter-fueled speech thats become appointment viewing in the College Football Playoff.

Advertisement Its just that nobody noticed when it came from a backup guard other than the people who mattered.

Six months later, the audience has changed because Notre Dame is two wins away from its first national championship since 1988 and the orator is more central to the story.

Before last weeks Sugar Bowl win over Georgia , before Coogan took the field holding the American flag, the Irish center held court outside the Notre Dame tunnel and unleashed a 42-second blast that included at least 17 F-bombs, punctuated by, Its God, its country, its motherfing Notre Dame.

The entire offensive line surrounded Coogan, who plays the part of team captain whether he has a C on his jersey or not.

Ive kind of been an emotional kid my whole life, Coogan said.

Its easy to get fired up and stuff like that because of how much I love this university and how much I care for these guys.

Thats really, truly what it is.

Its nothing for clicks or anything like that.

Its truly just a moment with the guys, and now its 2025 and everyone brings their phones out.

Coogan doesnt remember what its like not to be a Notre Dame fan because theres nothing else to remember.

Around the age of 12, Coogan asked for tickets to a Notre Dame- Duke basketball game for his birthday.

Because what else does an Irish-Catholic kid want other than a reason to get back to Notre Dame? He wore a green No.

1 Notre Dame jersey for so many of those trips to South Bend in elementary school, taking pictures with the Irish guard, growing up around the program he now leads.

GO DEEPER Notre Dame, Penn State set for Orange Bowl clash.

What are keys to the game? The Coogan family is pure subway alumni from the South Side of Chicago, other than an uncle who attended Notre Dame Law.

Pat graduated from Marist High, just like his dad, Mike, whose senior football season overlapped with the last time Notre Dame won it all.

Mike doesnt remember life before Notre Dame football either, with parents Bill and Rosemarie counting themselves as Notre Dame fans before their kids had a choice not to be.

Advertisement Rosemarie heard her grandsons pregame speech for the first time in December, during the weekend of Notre Dames year-end awards banquet.

Pat wasnt sure they should do it.

Mike insisted.

These were her actual words, Mike said.

I love the enthusiasm.

How could anyone not? What gives Coogans speeches bite isnt word choice; its the career arc of the guy delivering them.

When former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees recruited Coogan, he was blunt about where the offensive lineman stood on their board.

Notre Dame liked four-star Garrett Dellinger from Clarkston, Mich., more.

Dellinger was also high school teammates with Rocco Spindler , Notre Dames top interior line target that cycle.

So if Coogan wanted to chase the dream at Notre Dame, hed have to wait on it.

But when Dellinger committed to LSU , Rees doubled back, offering a scholarship in March of the linemans junior year.

Coogan waited a couple of days to accept, probably just to make sure it wasnt too good to be true.

Then he called Rees to commit.

He caught the offensive coordinator shopping at Costco, which was as good a place as any to receive the news.

Always, always, always, with an emphasis on three times, the dream was play at Notre Dame, Mike said.

We all knew that.

Coogan enrolled in the same 2021 recruiting class as early-round NFL Draft picks Joe Alt and Blake Fisher .

Then he watched both start as freshmen.

Coogan didnt see the field.

He played just once as a sophomore, during a 44-0 blowout of Boston College in a blizzard.

But thats how its supposed to work for linemen: redshirt, play a little, win a starting job if youre good enough.

And Coogan was good enough, taking the left guard job during preseason camp and leading the team in snaps played that fall.

Coogans Notre Dame story was going to script.

Until August of this year when the staff started to work redshirt freshman Sam Pendleton at left guard, betting on potential over production.

It felt like an out-of-the-box move that Notre Dame couldnt possibly carry into the opener in College Station, making an inexperienced offensive line even less experienced.

And then it did.

Advertisement Coogan still gave that pregame speech at Texas A&M.

Then he watched the game from the sideline as Notre Dame served notice about where this season could go in a dramatic win against the Aggies.

Coogan watched from the sideline a week later, too, when it all came crashing down against Northern Illinois , where his grandfather Bill played fullback.

But when starting center Ashton Craig tore his ACL at Purdue, Coogan answered the call, playing a new position and never missing a beat.

He has started all 11 games since.

And Notre Dame has won them all, heading toward Thursday nights Playoff semifinal in the Orange Bowl against Penn State .

The great thing about Pat is even when he wasnt asked to be in a prominent role, he was a prominent leader.

That speaks a lot to the culture of that room and his character in particular, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said.

From Mike McGlinchey to Quenton Nelson to Jeff Faine, the leadership and the importance of it in that room, and to have a guy like Pat at the forefront of that room ...

During Notre Dames clock-draining drive against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl basically when the Irish line forced the Bulldogs to submit Denbrock called a jet sweep to Jordan Faison .

The play was designed to run toward the Notre Dame sideline, and Coogan pulled left on it.

In the flat, Coogan blocked cornerback Daylen Everette and kept blocking him straight into the Notre Dame bench.

The play got called back for a penalty, not that it mattered.

Message delivered.

Coogs is an unbelievable leader, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said.

He is passionate about this place, and hes passionate about that position.

To start the season, we felt like what was best for that game was to have him as a backup.

And he didnt complain, just worked.

Now hes in the position where hes our starting center, and hes just battling and doing a great job, and hes leading the group.

I gotta hear some of these speeches.

(Top photo: Sean Gardner / Getty Images).

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