Notre Dame football: Brian Kelly must exorcise big-game demons

Notre Dame football has not closed the talent gap

The issue is that Kelly hasn’t been able to close that talent gap. It has taken him a decade to figure out how to recruit at Notre Dame, and this has meant that they’re always a step behind their opponents in terms of size and speed. For the longest time, this has been the barrier between Notre Dame and college football’s elite teams.

Many people have also criticized Kelly’s in-game coaching decisions and game planning for these big games, but it really comes down to the players on the field executing the plays. Now, there’s certainly more Notre Dame could do in these areas, and it’s easy to nitpick after the fact, but the most basic truth is Kelly is frequently out recruited by his peers. That’s the unacceptable truth.

Now, the Irish have a chance to pull off a massive upset over Alabama in the College Football Playoff, but not a lot of people will put money on them. The Crimson Tide has depth beyond what the Irish offer and they have an explosive offense that Notre Dame can’t match.

We know this without watching the game play out, as even if Clark Lea and Tommy Rees call perfect games, they’re still behind a jumbo-sized eight ball.

Everyone expects Notre Dame and Brian Kelly’s big game struggles to continue, but even if Notre Dame wins the history of losses won’t be enough to shake the reputation. It’s like being sprayed by a skunk. It’s going to take years of consistent success in these games to shake the stink.