Brian Kelly met with the media on Sunday night following his team’s narrow victory over Florida State and talked like a coach who knew his team was lucky to escape with the victory. He opened his presser up by immediately stating that the Irish know that they have a lot of work to do and have to improve this week. It was a different tone than the supremely confident head coach we had all summer long, indicating that Kelly might not have been expecting the struggle his squad encountered.
Here’s a rundown of everything else Kelly mentioned after the win.
On the different offense we saw relative to 2020
Kelly liked that Notre Dame pushed the ball downfield well but admitted that Notre Dame has to run the ball better moving forward. He said that it would be emphasized in practice this week.
On Florida State’s success running the ball in the 2nd half.
Kelly said that with McKinzie Milton in the game, Notre Dame wanted to be in more nickel, double-zone because of his accuracy. The Seminoles had success because Notre Dame wasn’t disciplined with their gaps.
On 3rd downs
Kelly mentioned that Notre Dame needs to be a lot better on third downs because they missed numerous opportunities on 3rd down in the first half.
On the benefit of winning a close game on the road
Kelly said that Florida State challenging Notre Dame last night would help them get better. He credited Florida State for playing well and stressing the Irish all night. He also said that there are many teaching moments from this game that will be easy to teach this week because they won versus losing.
On the terrible calls from the ACC officiating crew
Kelly was incredulous about the non-roughing the punter call. Kelly was also visibly upset about the overturned fumble on the kickoff, where there was not a single replay shown on TV that proved inconclusively that the ball wasn’t out. “Jack (Swarbrick) pays all my fines,” he joked.
On not being able to close out the game offensively
Kelly wasn’t happy with the execution from the offense late in the gamer. He said that they were committed to running the ball. They just didn’t do a very good job of it. He also was clear that 65 rushing yards is not going to cut it moving forward.
On what he needs Marcus Freeman to take out of this game
He said that Freeman learned more about his personnel and what he can and can’t call with certain players in a game.
On injuries
- Paul Moala has to get an MRI on his ankle. He was spotted walking around on the sideline in a walking boot. Kelly said that he doesn’t know for sure, but it didn’t look good for him.
- He also said that they are confident there was no ligament damage and that it was just a strain.
- Kevin Bauman has a leg injury that will have to be x-rayed.
- Shayne Simon had a shoulder injury, but he didn’t have any further detail.
On the three Notre Dame players who were unavailable at the last minute Sunday night (C’Bo Flemister, Logan Diggs, Jordan Botelho)
Kelly did not elaborate on why they were unavailable but said that all three had the same status and were currently unavailable. Therefore, it is still unclear if the three were unavailable due to COVID protocols or any sort of disciplinary action.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Comments
12 RESPONSESMore on Coach Interviews
Coach Interviews
Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman Talks Year 2, Sam Hartman’s Rib Necklace
Coach Interviews
Marcus Freeman: We All Have to Look At Ourselves to Fix Issues Notre Dame’s Having
Coach Interviews
Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman on the Dan Patrick Show: “I Didn’t Want to Make the Same Mistake Twice”
Does anyone really believe that Freeman set that fourth quarter defense and Kelly just stood calmly by watching it?
Ditto, Brian Kelly has done the least, with the most for 12 years now.
Knute Rockne’s FIVE undefeated teams and THREE National Championships and much higher winning percentage make Kelly’s pathetic win total…. well pathetic!
Right now, Palm projects ND to face Clemson in the Peach Bowl.
Notwithstanding that this assumes ND doesn’t have one of its “oh….we’re playing football today!?” games along the way…..
Clemson would end ND’s season with yet another holiday ass-whooping.
With Brian Kelly wandering the sideline like a drugged up mascot.
Brian Kelly closing in on record wins?
Hmmmm
Fun fact:
EVERY ND head coach would have eventually been able to set a wins record, if ND had decided not to fire them for unacceptable results at some point before then.
Which is what ND uniquely did for purple-faced Kelly: 4-8 in 2016, with 20 losses over the previous seasons.
Hell., Gerry Faust only lost 26 games over 5 seasons….and resigned.
edit: “…with 20 losses over the 4 seasons ending with 2016.”
The only fraud here is you David. You are a certified hater and don’t have the brains to learn and to re-invent yourself.
Every post is the same old crap and all you achieve is added certification that you are a clinical psychopath
Why in the hell do you you waste your time with nothing to offer but hate. Go find another site or go get a good psychiatrist. You definitely need help.
Then ignore my posts Dr. Freud. A learned man like yourself should be able to figure that out.
Actually David, BK is right on all counts.
We need to run the ball better, we cannot stop the run between the tackles, and we folded in the fourth quarter. I do not know if we will
be ready by Wisconsin, but for.now, we are way ahead of them.
BGC. 77. 82
Enjoy another great season. You are a posterchild for why this continues.
No Brian….this is yet not another “we have work to do” moment. Yuo’re in year 12. You’ve “been doing this” for 821 years now.
YOU’VE got a long iong overdue resignation letter to write.
Take your millions and go away, you ridiculous old fraud.
Ditto, Brian Kelly has done the least, with the most for 12 years now.
Knute Rockne’s FIVE undefeated teams and THREE National Championships and much higher winning percentage make Kelly’s pathetic win total…. well pathetic!