That’s how Brian Kelly looked for him, remember? Away from the “ashes of tradition” (his words) in a Rose Bowl that is played indoors and 1, four00 miles east of Pasadena, California. to see what Fighting Irish number four had become.
On Friday night, they watched a show that reorganized, redesigned, reformed and improved. Notre Dame, in fact, has stood firm with Alabama.
That would be Alabama in 2012.
This Alabama returned Notre Dame to the Stone Age at the 2013 BCS championship game. This Tide overcame the Irish so badly (42-14) that the result sent Kelly back to the movies and recruiting sites to build a northern Indiana edition of Nick. Saban’s bully ball.
It worked to some extent. Eight years later, Notre Dame and Kelly emerged from the status quo in this turbulent season with some certainty amid the chaos. Even for unsophisticated eyes, the Irish had an edition of The Tide: stronger, more terrestrial and more defensive.
One problem: while Notre Dame re-equipped, Alabama revolutionized the game.
In essence, Notre Dame has become what Alabama once, just in time to be hit again, this time 31-14 in a school football semi-final. However, philosophy led the Irish to the playoffs for the time being in three years.
One step forward, two steps to the drawing table.
If only Kelly’s defense of his show is as smart as his Defense on Friday. It is clear that Kelly did not need the media scrutiny that accompanied some other significant defeat in the playoffs at the highest level.
“You’re killing me,” Kelly told the media in her post-game Zoom session.
“I don’t need to go down this road,” he added. ” We’re going to stay here, okay?We’re going to keep banging. They played on the perimeter. They had school football player of the year [DeVonta Smith]. I’m sorry if you don’t like it. I don’t like it or they don’t like the national media.
Kelly would possibly declaim, but this has obscured Notre Dame’s genuine progress, refocusing on the question of the moment at Notre Dame. After some other attempt to enter the stratosphere of school football, the Irish were unable to touch the sky. don’t help him.
“It’s not about being knocked down or not having enough players to face Alabama,” he said. “It’s about making plays. I suppose everyone has to bring this story that Our Lady is not smart enough. Look at the scores. ” Alabama has played all year round. We want to replace the narrative a little bit. “
Yes, for the first time in 26 games, Bama did not score at least 35 points. Yes, Notre Dame has played Alabama “close” to others this season, who have lost an average of 30 points. Yes, Notre Dame still has the most productive victory of the season by beating then-No. 1 Clemson on November 7.
One way or another, congratulations seem to be appropriate.
All of this can be just a symptom of what school football has – ruled through about 3 groups. On Friday, it became clear that those three groups were still alive in the playoffs at the time: Clemson and Ohio State to accompany Alabama.
“Our Lady Nation, you can get some sleep. Recharge your battery,” Kelly said. “Let’s go back to that position. You don’t want to jump off a bridge, a building. We will continue to paint and dedicate ourselves again. “
After this cheer-up collection, the Golden Domers will have to go all over the place to admit that the separation remains enormous. Alabama has become the first team in the PSC era to win seven playoff games. With everything else, Tide averages a playoff win. according to the season.
But it’s less hard to swim across the Mississippi than to close the hole in what Saban has completed in the more than six seasons. He is continually transforming his show, recently into an offensive power, when he said in the middle of the 2020 season that the offense won the championships, the game does not listen or it is too late.
To be honest, it’s worth mentioning again that the Irish have developed an identity on the field since their 4-8 minimum in 2016, but as the game is governed by those ultra-lites, comparisons are more difficult.
“Let’s keep coming back here, ” repeated Kelly. ” Everyone can stay and say, ‘Our Lady is smart enough. ‘You know what? You’re going to have a problem. We’re going to keep winning games. and come back here. We’re going to break up. Then I’ll be awful to be at a press convention with. Terrible!”
The bully’s chair meets the bully’s ball. Notre Dame kept the ball for almost 18 minutes in the first half, beat Bama with a score of 15 games and stayed 21-7 in halftime.
Unsurprisingly, Alabama scored in its first 3 possessions, repeating a functionality that now has routine. The part of the moment was curious if you wondered about the biggest problem hole in PSC history (19. 5 issues for Alabama).
The Tide did not canopy with an overdue landing, however it dominated the Irish.
“Everyone has the same challenge as me,” Kelly said. “Address those guys. I don’t have an exclusive challenge at Notre Dame. “
After 8 long years in the lab, this story Kelly so fears is now a British Encyclopedia, a reference library for frustration. Notre Dame has now been 0-7 in the BCS or SIx New Year bowling games since 1998. average of 23 game-consistent issues with all losses of at least 14 issues.
Notre Dame has been refitted, but not effectively. Kelly described the challenge as “on the perimeter. “It’s like saying that if Superman couldn’t fly, he wouldn’t be a superhero. Notre Dame doesn’t have the receivers describing the Alabama offensive. Or the cornermen to cover them.
Nobody’s doing it. But it would be great to be part of this national conversation about hiring.
“We were out of firepower,” Kelly said. ” That’s all. There’s no story. “
Notre Dame football still has the educational criterion that Kelly never made a crutch. Good for him. His frustration is because Friday he called it a kind of failure. With one more win, the Irishman would have won the maximum in four years.
The charge is not Kelly. La frustration of the postseason at the festival in the biggest bowls goes back to Bob freakin’ Davie. This one hurts as it should, even without the Twitter trolls who spent the afternoon proclaiming that Texas A
Maybe that’s what school football came to. After eight years, it doesn’t look like Notre Dame has come close to the top. The rest of school football doesn’t have it when it comes to comparing yourself to Alabama.
Smith did his best to reveal how ridiculously early the voting deadline for the Heisman Trophy is. Ballots were due to be delivered on 24 December. But if anyone other than Bama’s senior team wins the trophy after his show on Friday, there will be an investigation.
Smith put in seven more passes for 130 more yards and three touchdowns. The latter issue tied a Rose Bowl record. He has shown in this undefeated season that he is the ultimate damaging player on the field.
Prior to the game, Pro Football Focus calculated that Smith had been attacked 123 times with two falls in 2020.
Which coach is necessarily asked in the post-game to call his favorite Alabama player for heisman?
“I’m going to give it to [Smith], ” said Kelly, sarcastic, adding the obvious.
“We want to keep locating more game creators. We’re leaving. “
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Getty images and U. S. Presswire imagesBut it’s not the first time