Simulating to find the best Notre Dame Football team in the Brian Kelly era

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - OCTOBER 05: Head coach Brian Kelly and players of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepare to take the field for the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Notre Dame Stadium on October 05, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

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Notre Dame Football. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) /

Brian Kelly has had a nice run at the helm of the Notre Dame football program, but which team was his best ever in South Bend?

When you have had as long and successful of a career as Brian Kelly has had with the Notre Dame Football program, there tends to be a lot of debate about which team was the best under him. After all, with three unbeaten regular seasons and multiple trips to major bowl games, there have been plenty of great teams.

There also hasn’t been a team clearly a step above the rest, the way the 2001 Miami Hurricanes team is among all Miami teams. For Kelly, he has had a ton of teams that were some of the best in college football, but not quite good enough to win a national title, or even win a major bowl game.

Now, there is a fun debate to be had here, but one that ends without an answer. Luckily, there is a helpful simulator to find the answer with. It’s called WhatIfSports.com and it offers you the ability to simulate historical matchups against different college football teams.

So, let’s break down this simulated tournament:

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