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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman revealed that the Fighting Irish have used an upset loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 as motivation during their current six-game win streak.
"We can't lose the pain," Freeman said on Saturday, per ESPN's Heather Dinich. "That's what I want to make sure our guys understand. I don't want to lose the pain from that game because at times we are motivated by fear. We don't want this to repeat itself. We've got to use that."
He stressed the importance of using the loss as fuel and ensuring that his team doesn't get complacent amid the current stretch of victories.