ATLANTA -- Riley Leonard doesn't want to take off his shiny gold helmet just yet. As scarlet confetti rained from the sky and Ohio State celebrated its seventh national championship Monday night after defeating the Irish 34-23, Leonard stood on the other end of the court with every departing Notre Dame player. Players shook hands and hugged.

When Leonard finally left the celebration, he found a group of Notre Dame fans in the tunnel giving him and the rest of the team a silent standing ovation through the soundproof windows. While there was disappointment on the faces of many Irish fans, there was also palpable appreciation.

"Thank you for bringing us here!" one fan shouted.

As Marcus Freeman stood outside the Notre Dame locker room, he couldn't leave for a press conference. Inside the tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, his eyes fixed on the TV in the corner, Ryan Day was enjoying the victory, lifting the trophy that Freeman had nearly grabbed.

Pride and disappointment collided in the Notre Dame locker room as players tried to face the fact that they weren't the best team on the field Monday night while knowing they deserve recognition for what they've accomplished this season.

"We've been to the playoffs three straight times, and before this year, we couldn't even win a playoff game," defensive lineman Howard Cross III said. "We beat three great teams in a row. We couldn't finish the game, but we've changed the narrative for us as a program."

In one corner, offensive lineman Pat Coogan waxed poetic about how Notre Dame fought through injuries and adversity to win a national championship. In another corner, safety Jordan Clark could barely get his words out, tears rolling down his face and his voice shaking.

"That's the love in this room, man," Clark said. "We never fold."

Although Notre Dame has been on the cusp of its first national championship since 1988, this season has been a proof-of-concept for Freeman and his mission to build in South Bend. The Irish suffered one of the program's worst losses in September at home to Northern Illinois, and it was likely the start of a long and mediocre campaign. Instead, it was the beginning of a legendary journey.

"Everyone was devastated after the (NIU) loss," Cross said. "Let's just keep rolling."

That they bounced back from that game and finished the regular season with 10 straight wins showed that the players and coaches had bought into Freeman's vision of a resilient team and had a bold plan to do it again. will take its place in the near future. The pinnacle of the sport. Monday night's game proved that philosophy once again.

Despite trailing 31-7 in the third quarter, the Irish's hopes may have been dashed. But this is a team experiencing its worst version early in the season. They're already familiar with rock bottom, and when they tied USC at halftime in their final game of the season, they saw it again and responded. A few weeks later, when they trailed 10-3 at halftime in the Orange Bowl against Penn State, they echoed that feeling again and ensured their dream season would continue.

So it’s no surprise that the Irish continue to fight despite being at a talent disadvantage and being so far ahead. They forced turnovers from their opponents, cutting the game down to two possessions with plenty of time remaining.

"We didn't give up. We didn't stop," Cross said. "No matter how bleak or bad things look, we still keep trying. We still keep fighting until the end."

Even if hope faded away entirely after Jeremiah Smith caught the dagger on Monday, the hunger remained. The Irish tasted greatness again. In this new era of the sport, they have proven they are capable of competing for the sport's ultimate prize.

"The reality is we were all a little skeptical, but we all chose to work and we all chose to trust each other," Freeman said. "We do it every week and you still have to believe, in addition to knowing if your job is going to get you the results you want, they continue to do it. They keep this program in a position to compete for a national championship."

The silver lining lies both in the numbers and in the moments. According to ESPN SP+, the Irish's defense and offense rank in the top six in the country. With the exception of Northern Illinois, they dominated teams that were better than them and took every opportunity on the biggest stage to show that this was a program with a fresh look and forward momentum. Even a national brand like Notre Dame could benefit from the exposure this team creates for itself.

"The culture has changed. I don't know how to describe it, but people are confident," said Cross, who has been in South Bend since 2019. "In these games before this year, it was like, wow, I didn't know that. Now, no one thinks we're going to lose."

The climb to modern college football is as steep and long as ever. Playing 15 or 16 games in a season and winning four in a row and eventually winning them all is a tall order, but the Irish seem more capable of achieving it.

“I tell these guys they’re leaving this program better off — I don’t care if you’ve been here a year or you’ve been here six years,” Freeman said. "The outlook for Notre Dame football is very high. As long as the guys coming back in the locker room understand what it takes and understand the hard work these guys put in, we're going to have a lot of success in the future."

For Freeman and company, the pain of losing a loved one can only last so long. Work begins immediately on building out the encore, and channeling the momentum from this run into recruiting and portal additions will be critical. Notre Dame will have to replace Leonard, Cross, Jake Kizer and several other players, and the teams they beat here will also be reloaded, including Ohio State. Freshman CJ Carr at quarterback is exciting, and the breakthroughs of running back Jeremiyah Love and wide receiver Jaden Greathouse are also promising.

As difficult as Monday night was, the current pain was mitigated somewhat by optimism about the future that extended beyond the confines of the Irish locker room.

"We're going to win more than one in the next 10 years. I have no doubt about it," said Lou Holtz, 88, to whom all his successors have been compared. “We have a culture and we believe that you play for your teammates and that’s what Notre Dame is about.”

Tony Rice, quarterback of Notre Dame’s last championship team in 1988, perhaps summed it up best: “I thought I’d never see it in my lifetime, but now it’s time to pass the torch Give it to someone else.”

"This is uncharted territory for us, but it's not a one-time thing," Cross said. "Before this year, this is something Notre Dame can't do now. Now, this is something Notre Dame can do."

Andrea Adelson contributed to this story.