Love him or hate him for his sideline antics, Brian Kelly has done some amazing things with Notre Dame over the years. Keeping the Irish in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings this late into the season certainly rates as one of them.
With the Irish contending for a College Football Playoff spot, Kelly has now won eight games in each of his first six seasons in South Bend. His predecessors — Bob Davie, Charlie Weis, and Tyrone Willingham — won eight games or more a combined total of five times over, spanning nearly a decade and a half.
Enduring so many crushing injuries early in the season, nobody would have had the Irish on the cusp of making the playoff. However, Kelly has prepared the backups and has truly made “next man up” a reality. There is something to be said about the depth he has built in the program, whereas his predecessors struggled to put consistent starters on the field.
Much of this speaks to the job Kelly did in recruiting entire classes of players. Notre Dame is always going to get blue-chip, top-class players. The difference Kelly has been able to make is in building the depth. Kelly has never had a recruiting class lower than 20th.
However, he is also an artist when it comes to getting his players ready to perform. During the Kelly regime, Notre Dame has gotten much better on the defensive side of the ball and simply plays with more discipline. The Irish don’t miss tackles or commit bad penalties.
Though this season will likely be only the second time that Kelly has reached a double-figure win total, the consistency and stability he has brought to South Bend are unquestioned. Before coming to Notre Dame, Kelly had three straight double-digit-win seasons at Cincinnati, including an unbeaten campaign in 2009, before he moved to the Golden Dome. He always jumps out quickly. In terms of measuring eight-game starts to seasons in South Bend, this year’s 9-1 start is accompanied by the runner-up 2012 season and a 7-1 start last season. (The 2014 season was obviously marred by a November collapse rooted in poor quarterback play and defensive injuries.)
Another thing working for Notre Dame is that Kelly is on a two-game bowl winning streak since falling in the 2012 BCS Championship game. Stretching that to three or even four would certainly cement Kelly’s identity as one of the top coaches in the nation.
On Saturday, the Irish face Boston College at Fenway Park. Then, next week, they travel to Stanford. In 1993, the Irish remember well that they lost to Boston College precisely when the national championship lay in plain sight. The memory of David Gordon’s kick splitting the uprights in a silent Notre Dame Stadium is one of the most painful experiences the Fighting Irish have had to endure over the past 25 years. You know that moment will be talked about before kickoff this Saturday in Boston.
Expect Brian Kelly to have his team focused on the Eagles. Stanford can wait.
The reality that the Stanford game could serve as a portal to a playoff berth, in a year when the Irish have absorbed so many injuries to important frontline players, speaks to the work Brian Kelly has done in South Bend.
It’s enough to make a face serene and peaceful — the exact antithesis of the purple hues Kelly’s face so often acquires on gameday.
