Notre Dame: Georgia is a Legacy Game for Brian Kelly

The Notre Dame vs. Georgia game is one that will  — for better or worse — contribute to the legacy of Brian Kelly.

Brian Kelly is in his tenth season as the Notre Dame head coach. In all but one of those previous nine seasons, he’s made a bowl game. Five of those seasons, he finished in the Top 25. In four of those seasons, he’s won ten games. Two of those seasons were undefeated.

For most coaches at most programs, that’s a legendary career. In fact, it only took four seasons of similar results for Kelly to make the Cincinnati Bearcats Hall of Fame. However, he’s missing something at Notre Dame — major wins.

Sure, Kelly is an impressive 6-3 over USC, but those aren’t the big wins Kelly is missing. Kelly has developed a reputation for losing the big game. He got crushed in the 2012 BCS Championship Game. In last season’s Cotton Bowl and College Football Semi-Final, Kelly’s Irish were crushed.

The 2016 Fiesta Bowl wasn’t close.

The problem goes back to his time at Cincinnati, where he lost the Orange Bowl by two scores.

In all of those games, Kelly seems to be out-schemed, and the Irish are beaten before they hit the field. Good coaches can put together a game plan to beat Kelly, and he struggles to do the same to them.

That’s not a unique issue to have as a head coach. Jim Harbaugh famously can’t beat Ohio State. Harbaugh is also 0-2 in major bowl tries at Michigan.

Another coach with this problem will be on the other sideline tonight.

Kirby Smart is an excellent recruiter and talent developer. However, his in-game coaching decisions often seem anxious. He coaches as if he’s afraid to lose big games, and his play calls leave everyone confused. Look no further than the fake punt against Alabama last season.

They both have monkeys on their backs. For Kelly, it’s winning big games. For Kirby Smart, it’s beating Alabama. Without winning this game, both coaches lose a chance to change that narrative. Smart’s path to playing and beating Alabama will get more difficult. For Kelly, a loss all but confirms the narrative.

It will confirm that Kelly loses big games. It will confirm his teams are good, but never elite. A single loss will keep Notre Dame from making the College Football Playoff, denying Kelly another chance to change his postseason narrative.

However, with a win, Kelly and Notre Dame will be propelled back into the conversation of elite coaches and programs. It would demonstrate the growth and development of Notre Dame football under Kelly. It will show how both Kelly and the program have been able to adjust to a new era of college football.

Either way, when the Irish go between the hedges tonight, a chapter in Brian Kelly’s legacy will either be summed up or just beginning.