Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/841614
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 31 Last year, the record in such games was 1-6. "The margin is razor thin in terms of what needed to be done," Kelly said. "That's why I'm confident with the adjustments that we've made within our program, and by understand- ing where those mistakes were made, we will be back to where we need to be." The differences he expects stem from two basic tenets. "Defensively, you will see a football team that plays with a focus toward fundamentals," Kelly said. "I think it will show itself on spe- cial teams as well. That was a problem for us last year. It cost us at inopportune times. "We'll be fundamentally sound, eliminat- ing big plays. I think we will be opportunis- tic, and we'll be smart. "Offensively, I think there will be a physi- cality to the way we play." Sobering Stats • Since 2013, Notre Dame is 20-19 in games against Power Five teams. • The Irish are 3-10 in their last 13 true road games (the opponent's actual home field). • Kelly is 22-16 the past three seasons. Bob Davie was fired for going 19-16 his last three years with the Irish (1999-2001), as was Ty Willingham (2002-04) for his 21-15 mark. Yet Willingham's teams even defeated three top-10 teams during that time, while Kelly's has none. How did Kelly make it to year eight? Part one might be that the coaching equity built from playing in a national title game (2012) and being in the 2015 College Foot- ball Playoff hunt right until the final play of the regular season remains at a school that has mainly floundered since 1994 with zero major bowl wins. Part two might be finding a capable re- placement. Timing and opportunity are ev- erything in identifying the right coach. Finally, Kelly believes Notre Dame has closed the gap among the top-10 regulars in the past five years — or at least more so when they played the Crimson Tide for all the marbles in January 2013. In the last four years, there are only four programs that have placed in Rivals' top 10 each recruiting season: Alabama (No. 1 every year except 2015 when it was No. 2 to USC), Ohio State, Florida State and LSU. Notre Dame was No. 11 in 2014 and 2015, and No. 13 in 2016 and 2017. Stanford, the new football model of aca- demic/athletic excellence, has been No. 14, No. 18, No. 19 and No. 19 in the same rank- ings the past four years, but whereas the Cardinal is 41-13 in that time, Notre Dame is 31-20. The moral of the story is there is no reason why the Irish cannot be a consistent 10-win program during 13-game seasons — and zero alibis for the dumpster fire that was 2016. "There are no excuses for 4-8," Kelly said. "You don't blame the university, you don't blame the players … that falls on me. Let's get that straight. "The job at Notre Dame is not going to change a lot. You're still going to be asked to do a lot of things. What you have to do is make sure you prioritize your time. "I've prioritized my time as I see what my job function is, and that is make sure I develop my football team in the manner that I need to. I did a poor job of doing that last year. That won't happen again." ✦ Behind The 'Eight' Ball The 2017 campaign will be Brian Kelly's eighth at Notre Dame. Of the 15 full-time or non-interim coaches hired by the school since 1913, Kelly is only the fifth to reach his eighth year. The other four were the coaching Mount Rushmore of the program: Knute Rockne with 13 (1918-30), and Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53), Ara Parseghian (1964-74) and Lou Holtz (1986-96) with 11 apiece. Each of the first four finished unbeaten and/or won a national title in his third season. Kelly was on a similar path with a 12-0 regular season and No. 1 ranking in year three … until the 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game. The differences became more pronounced in year seven. Rockne and Leahy each finished 10-0 with consensus national titles in year seven. Parseghian and Lou Holtz were 10-1 and 10-1-1 in year seven, respectively, with each posting victories over unbeaten teams in the Cotton Bowl. Conversely, at 4-8 in year seven, Kelly quadrupled the number of losses of the aforementioned quartet combined in that same year. The ultimate aspiration — a national title — remains unchanged, but defining a successful season in 2017 after last year goes beyond that. "We're far more interested in how we can reach our potential," Kelly said. "This football team needs to play at a high level. For me, that's the bar. "We have to play at a level of excellence that we didn't play with last year. That will really be the focus all year, and whatever that byproduct is will be the byproduct." — Lou Somogyi The unexpected loss of several veteran players prior to the 2016 campaign created a leadership void that Kelly believes impacted his team's mental toughness, which manifested itself in a 1-6 record in games decided by seven points or fewer. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND