ATLANTA — This time it didn’t feel like a broken promise.

Not to sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen, whose departing Notre Dame teammates paraded up to him in the postgame locker room Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and verbally handed him the directive and the keys to evolve into the next impactful Irish football leader.

And not either to sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse, who alternately defiantly gritted his teeth and clenched his tear ducts as he processed aloud 7 seed Notre Dame’s 34-23 loss to 8 seed and heavy betting favorite Ohio State (14-2) in the CFP National Championship Game.

“I’m ready to get back to work right now,” he said after fueling a late rally with six receptions for 128 yards and 2 TDs — all in the second half. “I’ve never felt a pain like this. I’m even more eager to get rid of it, so I’m gonna be in the lab.”

The resolute anthems in the aftermath of Notre Dame’s latest jilted flirtation with destiny actually don’t sound that much different from those in 2012, in 2018, in 2020. But the reality around those coming from Monday night’s loss look distinctive.

With not only the feel that Notre Dame will soon be back making a run at giving its 1988 national title journey an overdue sequel, but with more margin for error, more ways to put an opponent into checkmate, more pathways to victory.

In other words, maybe third-year head coach Marcus Freeman and the 2024 Irish really did turn the lights back on in 2024, spilling into 2025. And maybe his Irish did take another step in winning the long game, even though there was plenty of statistical and circumstantial carnage to muck up just exactly what happened in the short term in the culmination of the first-ever, 12-team playoff.

Like the Irish (14-2) getting crushed in the critical running battle, 214-53, and having the nation’s No. 1 pass-efficiency defense get shredded with the game’s offensive MVP — Buckeye quarterback Will Howard — setting a CFP record by completing his first 13 pass attempts, and another mark for best pass-efficiency rating in the 11-year CFP history (204.8).

Howard also ran for 57 yards on 16 carries and had a hand in 18 of the Buckeyes’ 21 first downs, And speaking of first downs, the Irish only prevented three of those in Ohio State’s 12 third-down conversion attempts.

And one of the unsuccessful ones was about eating clock and centering for a Jayden Fielding 33-yard field goal that would clinch Ohio State’s ninth national title and second of the College Football Playoff Era.

Yet with all that, Notre Dame was able to knock a 31-7 abyss down to a one-score game in the fourth quarter. With a chance to get the ball back if only it could stop Ohio State on third-and-11 from its own 34 with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter.

But Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden dialed up a pressure, leaving sophomore cornerback Christian Gray on an island with OSU fab freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Smith blew past Gray and the nation’s No. 3 QB nationally in pass efficiency coming in delivered a 56-yard strike.

And game over.

“Yeah, there’s 15 other calls I could have made,” Golden said. “But we were kind of near the end of our rope in terms of we couldn’t allow another first down. So, we went the pressure route, and obviously 4 made a great play.

“So that’s always sad when that happens, because everybody looks at that player. And certainly I should be looked at for putting him in that position. But Christian is going to battle back. You don’t have to worry about him, man. He is a competitor. He’s resilient, and he’s a blessing.”

That you could plug all kinds of different names into that sentence is winning the long game.

“We didn’t get it done, and it hurts,” Freeman said. “My job is to figure out why, and I will.”

But this time, there’s no deep soul-searching that goes along with that. No tearing down and starting over. There’s something to build upon.

“It’s not a team or a culture that was — how do you say it? — it wasn’t store-bought,” offered Golden. “It was from the ground up. And it’s built with bricks. It’s built with mortar. And it’s built to last. It’s built for the long haul. That’s culture, and that’s the biggest thing.

“When coach Freeman identifies recruits and recruits’ families, it’s who matches our culture and who’s going to add and contribute to the culture and the community and the team and I think that’s the thing that I see.

“That’s the greatest strength of the program right now is just it’s become a culture. It’s become a way of life and how we want to do things. And, like I said, he built it the right way, and it’s built to last. It’s built to make runs.”

Whether Golden is a part of it all or not moving forward. Multiple reports Monday night have the former Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach the leading candidate to fill the vacancy as that NFL team’s defensive coordinator.

Golden declined to discuss the speculation about his future, but programs that compete for national titles have coaching and roster churn. And if Golden doesn’t return, defensive backs coach Mike Mickens figures to have earned a shot to lead the ND defense.

The constant, as Golden pointed out, is the culture,

And how does that come to life?

Hilton Head Island High School coach BJ Payne — Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed’s former coach and persistent mentor — had this observation after interacting with Freeman and his staff over the past three years and Freeman during his one season at ND’s defensive coordinator under Brian Kelly.

“They’re one of the very few places still left that truly develop,” Payne said earlier this week. “Most schools, if you don’t like what you’ve got, then you go to the [transfer] portal and go get what you need.

“Whereas Notre Dame, for a million different reasons, including admissions — it’s not a knock. It is what it is. Like, they still have to go get the kids that are culture kids from the high school level. I always thought that was going to be an absolute genius thing that would pay off years down the road. And it obviously hit really quick for them.

“And it’s proof for a guy like Jalen. He gets there. He has to learn. He’s got to wait his turn. He’s got to earn the trust of the coaches. You’ve got to be selfless and do everything. And in today’s game of football, that’s hard. It’s really hard to be able to get that unity and to get that culture.

“You could go spend $20 million to build your team, but are they going to have that unity? Are they going to have that culture? Now, Notre Dame will pick and choose high-level portal guys that are generally graduate transfers to fill very specific roles and needs on their team. But they fit. And that another reason why the long game is playing out faster than I ever thought possible.”

And Payne isn’t the only one who sees it that way.

“Really the only thing I can think about is the red and white confetti coming down to the ground,” Greathouse said. “Just thinking about how I need to dominate next season.”

“I’m more convinced,” Bowen said about the veracity of Notre Dame’s national title aspirations. “You saw where we could be, even with the margin after the end of the first drive in the third quarter. We made it a one-score game. Coming back next year, we’re gonna be a force to be dealt with.”

And maybe make good on a promise deferred.