This is most definitively where Kelly's system and coaching acumen is exposed.
...a Tron, plastic grass, reduction in speaking engagements, looser admission standards, etc.
major bowl game at this point. The 1/13 NC game was worse than the final score, and one might argue that the 1/16 Fiesta was, too.
The 1/06 Fiesta was the only time since 1/96 that ND has been w/in 7 pts in Q4 of a major bowl. That really needs to change.
So, we got that going in the right direction.
If Kelly is truly improving as a coach, albeit at a glacial pace that wouldn't be tolerated by any AD other than one as blatantly beholden to him as Savvy is, he should be able to show it in big games. First and foremost, I'd hope to see that in the UM and Georgia games, which are both opportunities for night game wins on the road against top 10 opposition - which can be easily counted on one hand over the past 25 years.
But you'd also hope to see that in January bowl games, where we have zero wins over a multi-decade time frame. The lack of them has been a lead weight for our recruiting prospects, and getting one would be an indication that Kelly might be able to end his career on an upward swing (since it's now clear he'll be finishing his career in South Bend). With the holes this roster has -- RB, NT, ILB, corner depth -- a playoff run is unlikely, but 10-2 with a New Year's bowl win should be very reasonable.
Because apparently what I do in this thread is point out circumstances of bowl games versus LSU.
(The Citrus Bowl is, of course, not among the premier January games, and doesn't discredit your overall point.)
It's also where your talent level against the very top teams get exposed.
recently, which includes 2016. The numbers include some fluff (e.g. Northwestern and Syracuse), but also some good programs/teams (e.g. USC, LSU, Michigan, Michigan St.).
Records last 3 years vs. final AP Top 25:
Swinney 14-2
Saban 14-3
Kelly 8-7
Smart 7-7
Gundy 5-5
Helton 6-7
Leach 4-5
Petersen 4-5
Fisher 6-8
Chryst 5-7
Franklin 5-7
Frost 4-6
Malzahn 6-10
Harbaugh 5-9
Mullen 3-8
Shaw 3-8
Dantonio 3-10
Fitzgerald 2-8
Ferentz 2-9
Patterson 2-9
per AlexanderBess.com, which is the more telling stat.
Note: why does AlexanderBess.com show 12 losses against final top 10 teams when those stats only show 7 losses against final top 25 teams? Something's wrong somewhere - could someone check my numbers? (I had to go to the Bess site on my cell phone because it's blocked at work.)
I suspect BK wouldn't be so high up on the list if we trimmed the fat a bit.
Smart has road wins over teams that finished the season ranked 11 and 12 and neutral site wins over teams finishing 3, 7, and 10. He also lost the national title to Bama in overtime and held the lead on them in the fourth quarter of the SEC Title game before losing by 7. Give Kelly his entire nine year resume of away/neutral games and have him stack his best seven performances up against those.
LSU is coached by a a preposterously stupid man whose offense is in constant disarray.
We all know Kelly can't beat truly elite teams. I credit him with the Oklahoma win in 2012.
We beat them by 35 points. And 2018 Michigan was in national championship contention until the final week of the season. Those were great wins.
But I agree that those weren't truly elite teams - Helton and Harbaugh and Kelly are all passengers on the same ROY bus with an 0-for-forever record against Saban/Meyer/Swinney.
Not ND. I get that. But who is elite? Alabama and Clemson, certainly. Ohio State under Urban Meyer. Consistently, those are/were three truly elite teams. I'm not sure anyone else qualifies. Other than one close game against Clemson in 2015, ND has had their asses handed to them by all three.
Anyone else? Georgia? Oklahoma?
If someone wants to consider Georgia and Oklahoma elite, I won't put up much of an argument, but I'd like to see them beat someone besides each other in a Playoff game before crowning them.
It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens with Ohio St over the next couple years. Will they take a step back like USC did after Pete Carroll left, or will they get even better like Oklahoma did after Stoops left (so far at least)?
but for some reason I always got the impression that Harbaugh's teams play tight against good competition, including in SF. I like him as a coach, though I think that he's nuts, but he's probably wound too tight for the big game atmosphere.
The one year in SF that they made the Super Bowl they were able to overcome some stuff because they needed to open it up on offense with Justin Smith hurt on defense. Prior to that, they would seemingly just try to keep it close and win with defense, and they did the same formula the next two years as well.
and yes the games were vacated but the players still played, the coaches still coached and game-planed and beat OU. Plus, I dare you ask any player from that team if the games counted!
I don't claim this as some sort of mammoth accomplishment -- LSU was 8-5 on the year and finished 5th in the SEC West -- but Miles did win a title at LSU and take them to another championship game, so that would seem to contradict your claims inside your post.