Fresh off the six year extension, Brian Kelly is set to become one of the longest tenured coaches in Notre Dame history. He earned the chance to make history by winning some pretty important games since arriving in South Bend in 2010 (though you could argue, not enough since 2013. But that’s for another post). None more than these five:
#5 USC – 2012 (22-13): While USC was toiling under the mismanagement of Lane Kiffin, there is no denying that the circumstance makes this game a top five under Coach Kelly. Think back to the BCS era: Undefeated regular seasons mattered more than they do now and late season losses were insurmountable. The Irish were 11-0 creating a win-and-in scenario (thanks mainly to a tattoo parlor in Columbus, Ohio). Manti was still a super hero. And it was in the Coliseum. Top 5 win. Next issue!
#4 Utah – 2010 (28-3): Let’s be honest. The 2010 wasn’t that good. Losses to Michigan, Michigan State (field goal fake, if you’ve forgotten) and Stanford had the team 1-3 through September. Beating a Top 50 team seemed out of reach, let alone a Top 20 win. Notre Dame held the 14th ranked Utes, who scored 47 the week before on TCU, without a touchdown. It’s hard to overstate such a quality win in a new coach’s first year — they call these program building wins.
#3 Stanford – 2012 (20-13): Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor was a bad, bad, man. That he managed 102 yards against Notre Dame’s historically stingy rush defense is really telling. Only one other player eclipsed the century mark during the regular season – major bonus points if you know who it was without looking it up…or really, if you knew off-hand that it was Ray Graham from Pitt go outside now and talk to other living, breathing, human beings. Stuffing Taylor on the goal line was the stuff of legend. And it setup the Irish for their biggest win in a long, long time (we’ll get there…)
#2 Michigan State – 2013 (17-13): BK notched his third straight win over Sparty and did it with a Cam McDaniel TD late. Dantonio went back to the trick-play-bag and got burned…and there were LOTS of pass interference penalties but the net-net was a 10-game home winning streak for the first time since 1999. It also solidified Kelly as a wiley in-game coach (Calling pass plays for Rees to throw back shoulder time-and-time again just to force the PI action wasn’t quite 2015 end of half Jedi mind trick stuff, but it’s was most definitely son of a politician stuff)
#1 Oklahoma – 2012 (30-13): Prior to the Irish steam rolling OU, Bob Stoops had four career home losses. Four. By scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter Notre Dame announced to the nation that they were title contenders for the first time since 1993. This is the mountain top during the Kelly era…and it’s not even close.
- This Is Not The End For Brian Kelly - September 7, 2016
- Scouting Report: Texas - September 2, 2016
- Scouting Report: Stanford - August 2, 2016
Fresno –
You lost me right at the beginning. I can name a few wins that were better than the 2012 USC game. They are the 17-point win over a 2-loss Navy team last year; a 3-point win over a 4-loss Arizona State team on a neutral field in 2013; an 18-point win over a 3-loss Michigan State team in 2011; and a 3-point win over LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl.
Let’s take this point by point:
Undefeated regular seasons mattered more – OK. To be undefeated, you have to win all of your games, regardless of what order they fall in. Michigan State was ranked #10 when Notre Dame went in to their stadium and beat them soundly, 20-3. The following week, Notre Dame beat #18 Michigan at home. Before the USC game, Notre Dame easily handed Boston College, 21-6. Wasn’t that game just as important to an undefeated season as the USC game? Yes.
The Irish were 11-0 creating a win-and-in scenario: Which would not have been possible if Baylor didn’t thump Kansas State and Stanford upset Oregon. If either of those things didn’t happen, the win against USC may not mean as much.
Manti was still a super hero: That was all season. He had an outstanding game against Michigan State in Spartan Stadium.
And it was in the Coliseum. – A place Brian Kelly had already won in with TOMMY REES as quarterback.
Look, I know 2015 Navy was a good team, but I can’t believe you’d really want to put a non-P5 win in the top 5 BK win column? Come on now.
Right or wrong, the final game that pushes you to the top of the mountain gets the glory more often than not. That wasn’t the best Southern Cal team ever, but that’s still our biggest rival, on the road, and the game featured a goal line stand.
There is just too much surrounding that game to not push it top five.
If you don’t want to put Navy there, then I’m happy switching out them for MSU, LSU or ASU.
None of those games has stakes remotely as high though.
Consider the narrative for Notre Dame post-Ty. It was over for Notre Dame. ND couldn’t compete for titles or recruit enough talent with the way they handled admissions and academics. Pat Forde’s terrible article comes to mind in which the ND “football factory” fired Ty due to unrealistic expectations.
That Southern Cal game was the final proof that it could be done. The fact that the game was so close and had a goal line stand as one of the memorable and clutch moments of the game just shoots it up that much higher.
Put a different opponent there and I probably don’t feel that way. Take out the need for a goal line stand and I probably don’t feel that way. Take out the stakes of finishing undefeated for the first time since Lou and I absolutely don’t feel that way.
Take out Kansas State being trucked by Baylor and Stanford upsetting Oregon and you also probably don’t feel that way.
Look, if we are going to go down that rabbit hole, you probably don’t feel the way you do about Navy, LSU, ASU, or Sparty if they don’t win. That’s a bit pointless. Results were what they were. I’m looking at the game and the situations surrounding it not the myriad what-ifs that would’ve changed it.
“The situations surrounding it” = Notre Dame being #1 only because two teams lost the prior week. If #3 Notre Dame beats unranked USC by 9 points and is shut out of the national championship game, this game is not in your top 5. Isn’t that right?
What if the other teams on your list have more losses? Going down this path is fruitless. The situation is what it is.
Let’s try another path. What is Brian Kelly’s sixth best win, in your estimation? (I’m assuming you agree with Fresno’s five picks, if not necessarily the order.)
LSU 2014. Had that game been on a slightly bigger stage, I’d have that jump SC 2012.
Just take it from the flip-side, it would’ve been the no.1 ranked loss under BK had this been in the reverse, right? So how can it go from the no.1 on one list and not in the Top 5 on the other?
Well, that’s simple. If Notre Dame had lost to 2-10 BC in 2012, or Wake Forest at home, we’d undoubtedly consider that one of the worst losses. But that doesn’t make those wins Top 5.
I’m with Jude here. Preventing a bad loss shouldn’t be a factor in a big win. In that case, we’d have to throw Pitt 2012 in the discussion which, while a great game, really shouldn’t be in this discussion.
Fresno: I love posts like this. I’m hoping we have one thousand comments by the end of the day.
I think I am on record as saying that the Music City Bowl was one of the most important games of the program. In history. Whatever. Banged up Irish playing a banged up SEC powerhouse. Don’t talk to me about down seasons. That was an epic win. I am one hundred percent with you on the OU win in 2012, but I would have put the MSU win instead of Stanford. Stanford was important because they’re a rival (there, I said it) and we were undefeated, but the MSU win established us that season as a power. As a contender. And I think the MSU game set us up for the ovation in Oklahoma. I’d love to know your thoughts on why you didn’t include the 2014 Michigan game. I understand why you didn’t include it, but the way Kelly played that entire week, was simply brilliant. Last year’s GaTech game is one I also would have thought hard about: BvG gets a lot of flack for his defense, but was there a better controller of the option that he last year? Last year’s Texas game, too, was noteworthy. Again, don’t talk to me about dumpster fires. Texas is a huge program and Malik was FLAWLESS. Anyway, love it. Thank you for putting it together.
37-0
#RememberTheSix
What does this author know? He also left off FSU 2014…