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Post being replied to

I'm a little forgiving toward fans under the age of 30. by RallyingSon

We have an entire generation of fans who have never seen ND win a major bowl game. Some of them don't even seem to realize that winning such games used to be considered a goal at Notre Dame. I have already read multiple comments on other Internet forums complaining that we can't recruit the same players as Clemson and that Dabo is dirty. Therefore this will have been one of ND's greatest ever seasons, even if Notre Dame loses in a blowout.

Many young ND grads say, without irony, that their greatest memory as a fan is losing to USC in 2005 or tailgating in Miami before being decimated by Alabama. Part of me can't really blame them.

What annoys the hell out of me, however, is when fans (of any age) take as their starting point the a priori belief that Brian Kelly is a legendary coach. It then becomes necessary to tear down the accomplishments of Holtz, Ara, and Devine by comparing them disparagingly to Kelly.

If you're going to make a statement comparing Holtz and Kelly, have the decency to do your research and educate yourself about the strength of schedule Notre Dame teams used to play.

During Holtz's run of 24-1 he played eight teams that finished in the AP top-10. He beat seven of them. Two of the opponents he beat were ranked number one at the time of the game. Two of the wins were on the road (against #2 at-the-time-of-the-game USC and #2 Michigan). Holtz beat a ninth team that was ranked in the top-10 at the time of the game but finished "only" #17. He won by a score of 45-7.

During Brian Kelly's current run of 22-3 he has beaten two top-10ish caliber teams. Last year's USC team finished #12 in the AP and #10 in the coaches'. This year's Michigan team will finish in the top-10 if they beat Florida.

During the last two years Kelly has one road win against a team that was ranked at the time of the game: #24 Virginia Tech. The Hokies are a poor team that probably shouldn't have been ranked then and have no prayer of finishing the season ranked. Last year's MSU road win was certainly solid; they ended up ranked #15 in the final AP poll. Oh by the way, I haven't even mentioned that Holtz went to Happy Valley in 1989 and beat a Penn State team that finished #15.

But yeah, Holtz sucked because he lost in 1989 to eventual national champion Miami, the 1980s version of Alabama. And though it was a sound beating, it was a fuck of a lot more competitive than the game Kelly mailed-in against Miami last year. The same Miami team that went on to lose their last three games and finish outside the top-10.