On Last Week’s @Brian Rippee podcast w @Chase Parham they discussed Brian Kelly’s record vs Top 25. It sounded atrocious. So I looked for myself.
I looked at Rankings at the time of the win and that teams ranking at the end of the season. I only looked at Notre Dame’s schedule going back to 2014 - Playoff Era & I excluded Covid bc that was a weird years.
Synopsis:
Notre Dame / BK vs AP Top
Total games vs AP Top 25: 29
Total Record: 14-15
How many teams in that DID NOT finish in the top 25? EIGHT
How does that record change after realizing those 8 teams were not change? Record: 7-15
Brian Kelly is a below average coach against top 25 teams! He wins games he should win, wins some he shouldn’t win, but loses a lot of games! And before you say, we’ll you can’t get great talent at ND, a lot of these games came to teams with similar talent or less (Navy, Syracuse, Stanford, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech etc). Plus he was recruiting well at ND.
It wasn’t as bad as BSR made it seem but no where near what it should be!
I’m not here saying BK is a bad coach. But he has under performed.
I think we roll next week!
2021 (1-1)
Wins:
Wisconsin (Soldier Field) WON: 41-13
Wisconsin - Did not finish in the AP Top 25
Loss:
#7 Cincinnati (in South Bend) Lost: 24-13
Cincinnati finish ranked 4th in the AP
2019 (2-2)
Wins:
#18 UVA (in South Bend) WON: 35-20
UVA - Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#23 Navy (in South Bebd Won: 52-20
Navy finish ranked 19th in the AP
Losses
#3 UGA (Athens) Lost 23-17
UGA Finished Ranked 4th in the AP
#19 MICHIGAN (Ann Arbor) LOST 45-14
UM finished ranked 18th in the AP
2018. (4-1)
Wins
#14 Michigan (AA) Won 24-17
Michigan finished ranked 14th in the AP
#7 Stanford (SB) Won 38-17
Stanford Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#24 Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) 45-23
VT Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#12 Syracuse (Yankee STadium) 36-3
Syracuse finished #15 in the AP
Loss
#2 Clemson (Cotton Bowl) Lost 30-3
Clemson finished #1
2017 (3-3)
Wins
#11 USC (SB) Win 49-15
USC finished ranked 12 in the AP
#14 NC State (SB) Won 35-14
NCST finished ranked 23 on the AP
#17 LSU (Citrus Bowl) Won 21-17
LSU finished 18th in the AP
Loss
#15 UGA (SB) Lost 20-19
UGA Finished Ranked #2 in the AP
#7 Miami (Miami) 41-8
Miami finished ranked 13 in the AP
#21 Stanford (Palo Alto) Lost 38-20
Stanford finished Ranked 20th in the AP
2016 (0-2)
Loss
#12 Michigan St (SB) Lost 36-28
MSU Did not finish in the AP Top 25 (3-9)
#12 USC (LA) Lost 45-27
USC finished ranked #3 in the AP
2015 (2-3)
Wins
#14 Georgia Tech (SB) Won 30-22
GT Did not finish in the AP Top 25 (3-9)
#21 Temple(Philly) Won 24-20
Temple Did not finish in the AP Top 25
Losses
#12 Clemson (Clemson) lost 24-22
Clemson finished #2 in the AP
#9 Stanford (Palo Alto) lost 38-36
Stanford finished ranked #3 in the AP
#7 Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl) lost 44-28
OSU finished ranked 4th in the AP
2014 (2-3)
Wins
#14 Stanford (SB) Won 17-14
Stanford Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#23 LSU (Music City Bowl) 31-28
LSU #23 LSU (Music City Bowl)
Losses
#2 Florida St (Tallahassee) Lost 31-27
FSU finished #5 in the AP
#9 Arizona St (Tempe) Lost 55-31
ASU finished #12 in the AP
#24 Louisville (SB) Lost 31-28
Louisville finished ranked 24 in the AP
—-
Les Miles was 5-4 in ‘14 & ‘1
Gus Malzahn was 7-14
Kirby Smart was 15-7 against TOP 10 teams going into this season!
Lane Kiffin : 7-14 Has the same record going back to Tennessee. Key Difference, UT, was a rebuild, USC had a ton sanctions & a rebuild, Ole Miss coming off sanctions & a rebuild. Vs BK at a time when Notre Dame WAS rolling!
I looked at Rankings at the time of the win and that teams ranking at the end of the season. I only looked at Notre Dame’s schedule going back to 2014 - Playoff Era & I excluded Covid bc that was a weird years.
Synopsis:
Notre Dame / BK vs AP Top
Total games vs AP Top 25: 29
Total Record: 14-15
How many teams in that DID NOT finish in the top 25? EIGHT
How does that record change after realizing those 8 teams were not change? Record: 7-15
Brian Kelly is a below average coach against top 25 teams! He wins games he should win, wins some he shouldn’t win, but loses a lot of games! And before you say, we’ll you can’t get great talent at ND, a lot of these games came to teams with similar talent or less (Navy, Syracuse, Stanford, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech etc). Plus he was recruiting well at ND.
It wasn’t as bad as BSR made it seem but no where near what it should be!
I’m not here saying BK is a bad coach. But he has under performed.
I think we roll next week!
2021 (1-1)
Wins:
Wisconsin (Soldier Field) WON: 41-13
Wisconsin - Did not finish in the AP Top 25
Loss:
#7 Cincinnati (in South Bend) Lost: 24-13
Cincinnati finish ranked 4th in the AP
2019 (2-2)
Wins:
#18 UVA (in South Bend) WON: 35-20
UVA - Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#23 Navy (in South Bebd Won: 52-20
Navy finish ranked 19th in the AP
Losses
#3 UGA (Athens) Lost 23-17
UGA Finished Ranked 4th in the AP
#19 MICHIGAN (Ann Arbor) LOST 45-14
UM finished ranked 18th in the AP
2018. (4-1)
Wins
#14 Michigan (AA) Won 24-17
Michigan finished ranked 14th in the AP
#7 Stanford (SB) Won 38-17
Stanford Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#24 Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) 45-23
VT Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#12 Syracuse (Yankee STadium) 36-3
Syracuse finished #15 in the AP
Loss
#2 Clemson (Cotton Bowl) Lost 30-3
Clemson finished #1
2017 (3-3)
Wins
#11 USC (SB) Win 49-15
USC finished ranked 12 in the AP
#14 NC State (SB) Won 35-14
NCST finished ranked 23 on the AP
#17 LSU (Citrus Bowl) Won 21-17
LSU finished 18th in the AP
Loss
#15 UGA (SB) Lost 20-19
UGA Finished Ranked #2 in the AP
#7 Miami (Miami) 41-8
Miami finished ranked 13 in the AP
#21 Stanford (Palo Alto) Lost 38-20
Stanford finished Ranked 20th in the AP
2016 (0-2)
Loss
#12 Michigan St (SB) Lost 36-28
MSU Did not finish in the AP Top 25 (3-9)
#12 USC (LA) Lost 45-27
USC finished ranked #3 in the AP
2015 (2-3)
Wins
#14 Georgia Tech (SB) Won 30-22
GT Did not finish in the AP Top 25 (3-9)
#21 Temple(Philly) Won 24-20
Temple Did not finish in the AP Top 25
Losses
#12 Clemson (Clemson) lost 24-22
Clemson finished #2 in the AP
#9 Stanford (Palo Alto) lost 38-36
Stanford finished ranked #3 in the AP
#7 Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl) lost 44-28
OSU finished ranked 4th in the AP
2014 (2-3)
Wins
#14 Stanford (SB) Won 17-14
Stanford Did not finish in the AP Top 25
#23 LSU (Music City Bowl) 31-28
LSU #23 LSU (Music City Bowl)
Losses
#2 Florida St (Tallahassee) Lost 31-27
FSU finished #5 in the AP
#9 Arizona St (Tempe) Lost 55-31
ASU finished #12 in the AP
#24 Louisville (SB) Lost 31-28
Louisville finished ranked 24 in the AP
—-
Les Miles was 5-4 in ‘14 & ‘1
Gus Malzahn was 7-14
Kirby Smart was 15-7 against TOP 10 teams going into this season!
Lane Kiffin : 7-14 Has the same record going back to Tennessee. Key Difference, UT, was a rebuild, USC had a ton sanctions & a rebuild, Ole Miss coming off sanctions & a rebuild. Vs BK at a time when Notre Dame WAS rolling!
