Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 DECEMBER 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED F our days prior to Notre Dame's game at Stanford, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was asked that if had he been told back in Janu- ary his Fighting Irish would be 9-2 heading into the final game of the regular season … "I'll take it," replied Kelly, with the question not quite yet even completed. "Is it that simple?" the ques- tioner asked in his follow up. "It's that simple," Kelly responded. This exchange sparks com- pelling debate. On one side, Kelly's re- sponse would seem under- standable given that Notre Dame finished 4-8 last sea- son. Getting to 9-2 reflected tangible progress — never mind that Notre Dame was favored by the bookmakers in all 12 games (a first in many decades). On the other side, there was disap- pointment in that there are two mis- sions repeated by Kelly ad infinitum in the football operation: graduat- ing everyone and winning a national title. Rebuilding is never talked about as an option. That's why only at Notre Dame can you finish 4-8 and still be projected to win every game the fol- lowing season. Yet when the head coach acknowl- edged that at 0-0 he was willing to concede two defeats prior to the final regular-season outing, how can the latter of the two goals not be inter- preted as only lip service? I'd be willing to guess, and cer- tainly hope, there was no preseason assemblage in which the consensus feeling was, "If we can just get to 9-2 …" We've said it hundreds of times: You are not the Notre Dame football coach until 9-3 is a valley, not a peak (especially after eight years). On paper, this 9-3 regular season will be trumpeted to the masses as appreciable improvement. In reality, it actually is status quo for the past 24 years: A fall, a temporary rise, and back to reality. Or, just good enough to feel unful- filled and frustrated again. • Once again, Notre Dame will not be in a major bowl, meaning an unfathomable 24 straight years without a victory in such a contest when three-dozen other schools have achieved it in that span. In the 24 years prior from 1970-93, the Irish led the nation with 10 such conquests, seven of them against No. 1 and/or unbeaten teams. That was status quo back then; this is now. • For the 23rd time in 24 years, Notre Dame will have lost at least three games. Yet national title conten- tion is bandied about each preseason like it is at Alabama or Ohio State. • Notre Dame is 9-12 in November the past five years under Kelly, a so- bering stat in itself. Under predeces- sor Charlie Weis, it was 10-11 in his five Novembers. • Kelly is now 2-10 in true road games during the regular season against teams ranked in the top 20 at the time of the game. When you're at Notre Dame, you would at least like to be near .500 … maybe even .400. • Once again, we hear "why can't Notre Dame be at least as good, or program-like, as Stanford," which is 7-2 against the Irish since 2009. For 20-plus years now, 9-3 and even 10-3 seasons still left a void, a feeling of wanting. The 1998 Irish under Bob Davie began 9-1 — but fin- i s h e d w i t h b a c k - t o - b a c k losses. In 2002 under Tyrone Will- ingham, they were 8-0 (later 10-1) and No. 4 — but then lost three of the last five games, getting outscored 72-19 in the last two. In 2006 under Weis the Irish stood 10-1 — but then were outscored 85-38 in the last two games. This year 's 8-1 start felt "different" — yet here the Irish are again at 9-3 while getting outscored 79-28 in the final two road games versus ranked foes. Ending Stan- ford's dominance of the Irish at home and winning in a Big Six bowl versus a top-10 squad would have been truly "differ- ent," not status quo. Notre Dame's football operation the past 24 years has sort of mir- rored the Irish quarterback situation the last eight seasons: much early promise from a Dayne Crist, Tommy Rees, Everett Golson, Malik Zaire, DeShone Kizer … and then inertia, or even regression. The 4-8 season last year had its pros and cons for Kelly. The pro was it forced much change, and there was no place to go but up, which did happen. This will be feted as one of the best bounce-back seasons in school his- tory even though last year 's fiasco never, ever should have occurred. The con is what was vastly differ- ent in this regular season finish that hadn't been seen in the last 24? With a 68-34 career record at Notre Dame, Kelly is viewed as a "two out of three wins" coach. Not bad to many, but not ulti- mately fulfilling either. It's as simple as that. ✦ Status Quo: Good Enough To Remain Unfulfilled THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com After the 38-20 loss at Stanford Nov. 25, the Irish are now 9-12 in November the past five years under head coach Brian Kelly. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA