When Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU after the 2021 season, the coach said he felt he and the Fighting Irish were on different paths.
Almost three seasons later, these junctures put Notre Dame on the brink of the College Football Playoff, and Kelly and LSU soar.
The contrast between Kelly’s previous program and his current situation was never more stark than in Week 12. Notre Dame improved to 9-1 with eight straight wins, crushing Virginia in a 35-14 rout that was even more lopsided than the final score indicated.
Quarterback Riley Leonard threw two of his three touchdown passes to Jaden Harrison and Mitchell Evans, a perfect match for his Senior Day celebration in the Irish’s final regular season home game.
The win further boosts the Fighting Irish team, which has already clinched a playoff berth, and is reflected in its No. 8 ranking in the commission’s Nov. 12 poll.
While Notre Dame was putting the finishing touches on an eight-game winning streak, LSU was headed for a three-game losing streak. And it wasn’t just the Tigers’ 27-16 loss to Central Florida, it was the worst loss of Kelly’s LSU tenure.
A sideline shouting match with receivers Chris Hilton Jr. and Kylen Lacy gave the impression that the season was quickly spiraling out of control.
“Not being able to score touchdowns and points continues to be an issue.” Kelly said after the game:LSU fell short of 20 points for the second year in a row. “As coaches, we have to take responsibility. Players have to take responsibility for themselves to the end.”
“Our team has to make a decision on how to move forward,” he added.
Kelly’s demeanor on Saturday oozed far more frustration than disappointment. Disappointment seems like a better description of his postgame speech after the 2021 Rose Bowl game.
It was Notre Dame’s second appearance in the College Football Playoff during Kelly’s tenure, and the Fighting Irish’s third appearance in the 11 years that Kelly led the Golden Dormers with a serious shot at a national championship. encountered the Alabama buzzsaw.
The 31-14 loss was the most competitive of Notre Dame’s three national title games during the Kelly era, trailing the 30-3 loss to Clemson in the 2018 Cotton Bowl. It followed the infamous 42-14 loss in the 2013 BCS Championship Game.
Kelly seems at a loss as his third dream season ends with a thud. He spent another season in South Bend, but after the Rose Bowl, the end seemed inevitable.
In the spring of 2022, Kelly detailed his decision to commit to LSU as a necessary step toward winning a national championship, when he lamented that he and Notre Dame “don’t seem to be on the same page.”
“I want to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship,” Kelly said at the time. “And I came here because I want to be in the American League East.”
Now, the AL East hasn’t won baseball’s top prize since 2018, as the New York Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the most recent World Series.
The college football landscape hasn’t changed as dramatically as it did when the SEC swept the national championship seven years in a row from 2006 to 2012, but the last of that streak came at Kelly’s expense. It’s something.
But with Michigan State claiming the most recent championship, Oregon State ranked No. 1 in 2024, and perennial SEC powerhouses Alabama and Georgia showing rare vulnerability with two losses each. , the path to the top may not have to traverse the Southeast.
LSU is currently 6-4. The Tigers, who have fallen to No. 22 in the latest playoff rankings, would logically be removed from the polls entirely on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Notre Dame should move up in the standings, especially after No. 7 Tennessee lost to Georgia.
Kelly may have been right when he lamented that he and Notre Dame weren’t on the same path — just not in the way he intended.
