Top 5 Notre Dame Football Seasons of the Brian Kelly Era

All things considered, Notre Dame football has seen some great years under head coach Brian Kelly.

With NFL Draft season in full swing and Spring football just around the corner, now’s a good time to take a look at some of the best seasons the Notre Dame football program has seen under current head coach Brian Kelly.

As we head into the tenth season of Kelly’s tenure at the helm of the Irish, everything appears to be trending up. Outside of one hiccup of a year in 2016, Notre Dame has won at least eight games every season — reaching the double-digit win mark four times.

It’s hard to put that success into perspective — especially given the prestigious history of Notre Dame football — but most programs would give anything for that sort of track record over the last decade.

Here are the Top 5 Notre Dame football seasons of the Brian Kelly era.

5. 2013 (9-4)

Though all of these wins were technically vacated, we all know the games were played and the results were real. The highlights of 2013 included wins over Michigan State and USC. The Irish capped off the year with a win over Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. They finished the year ranked 20th in the AP and 24 in the Coaches Poll.

4. 2017 (10-3)

The 2017 squad was extremely talented — good enough to lose a close game at home to Georgia early in the season and still fight its way back into the College Football Playoff conversation. Fans will remember a disappointing November, but the team gave us some memorable wins over USC and N.C. State — both of whom were ranked. Without a doubt, the highlight of the season was the touchdown pass from Ian Book to Miles Boykin to beat LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

3. 2015 (10-3)

You could make an argument that this was Kelly’s most talented team. They lost two games in the regular season by a total of four points. The highlights of the year included wins over Texas and a ranked Georgia Tech team. Unfortunately, most will remember the injury to Jaylon Smith in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State more than anything else about the 2015 team.

2. 2012 (12-1)

We all remember 2012 as the year of Manti Te’o, the undefeated regular season, and unfortunately the beatdown loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship game. Regardless of that loss to Alabama, the 2012 Irish were a very good team and a testament to Kelly’s coaching prowess. That said, the loss in the title game also changed the way Kelly approached recruiting and set up the Irish for sustained success in the future.

1. 2018 (12-1)

We all just lived through this. We saw an opening game win over Michigan that set the stage. We had a quarterback change before the midway point of the season. We had players emerge as NFL-caliber talents and All-Americans. And we saw the Irish punch a ticket to the College Football Playoff. Between losing Julian Love for an explosive quarter and running into a buzzsaw of a Clemson team, the season did end on a sour note. Regardless, the 2018 campaign was one of the most enjoyable Notre Dame football seasons in recent memory, thanks to the most complete team Brian Kelly has assembled during his tenure.