Blue and Gold Illustrated

UNDER THE DOME It Never Lets Up For Brian Kelly By Lou Somogyi The Fighting Irish head coach has advertised that on paper this is his best and deepest team in his six seasons at Notre Dame. When such proclama- tions are made, a bare mini- mum of a top-10 finish should be the expectation. Further- more, he absolutely cannot afford to lose "the games that he should win." Unfortunately, the head- scratching upsets have been prevalent in four of Kelly's five seasons, most notably Navy and Tulsa in 2010, the South Florida opener at home in 2011, at Pitt in 2013 and Northwestern last season. It's become such a part of the operation the past two decades that even losing at home to Louisville last season, unfathomable before the turn of the century, is no longer truly classified as an upset. Although Notre Dame vice president and direc- tor of athletics Jack Swarbrick has stated that Kel- ly's coaching seat is "cold," Kelly admitted there is no way ever to be comfortable as the head coach here. The discomfort would multiply with another loss to a .500 or lower team such as Virginia. Cavaliers head coach Mike London could always go back to becoming a top coordinator at a Power Five school if he continues to flounder at Virginia, but for 25th-year head coach Kelly, the situation is more intense. He wouldn't be coveted by the NFL, and his Notre Dame career — minus the 2012 regular season — would be viewed less favorably. Mike London Desperately Needs A Marquee Win By Bryan Driskell Mike London is a high-character person, a per- sonable football coach and someone with a strong reputation with high school coaches and parents in the state of Virginia. It is that reputation that helped earn him the head coaching position prior to the 2010 season. London got off to a good start, getting the Cavaliers into a bowl game in his sec- ond year after taking over a program that was coming off a 3-9 season. It proved to be a mirage, and Virginia has gone just 11-25 over the last three seasons. Heading into 2015, London is on the hottest of hot seats. He needs a marquee victory or two, and must get the Cava- liers back to a bowl game. Virginia will have three oppor- tunities in September to pick up that kind of win, with the Cavaliers hosting Notre Dame and Boise State after traveling to UCLA to open the season. Each matchup serves as a potential lifeline for London, but no win would be bigger than an early season victory over the Irish. Not only is Notre Dame a marquee program, but the Irish are also the highest ranked opponent on the Vir- ginia schedule. A victory over Notre Dame would send shock waves throughout the college football landscape. Dropping the home opener to Notre Dame would be a tough loss for Virginia to overcome due to the overall difficulty of its schedule. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH HEAD COACH FOR THE ND-VIRGINIA GAME HAS MORE PRESSURE? Irish head coach Brian Kelly can- not afford another loss to a .500 or lower team such as Virginia. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND

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