I had a full column ready to go here.  Talking about the touchback in the end zone that felt like it took (a very enjoyable) 20 minutes, the inability for opponents to score more than 17 points against ND’s quality defense, how fun it is to have safeties who really are safe, the 12 quarters we’ve played so far this season without one ND defensive lineman being held and how that should be the lede in every story the beat writers put out in the next 48 hours, debating the quality of officials the ACC is sending to ND games, the whole schmear.

But, I decided, focus was required.  Because on Saturday, I saw the archetype for Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame football.  I saw Brian Kelly Notre Dame football writ large on the walls of Belshazzar’s feast.

(Yes, I’m going to complain, leave now if you can’t handle it)

I saw one play, and it personified the last nine years.  Just one.  But it was enough.

With four yards to go on third down, the ball at their own 37 yard line, and less than a minute to play, Notre Dame had the opportunity to ice the game and move to 3-0 on the season.  Four yards.  Third down.  Opponent out of timeouts.

The Fighting Irish lined up in the eye formation, with quarterback Brandon Wimbush under center and Tony Jones the tailback behind Brock Wright (thanks nbmba96) at fullback (harrumph), ready to get that last first down that would allow them to run out the clock.

So what happened when the ball was snapped?

Brandon Wimbush ran around in the backfield for five seconds, risking injury, to take time off the clock and let Notre Dame wait around for a punt.

Ran around.  Risked injury.  Didn’t feel like they needed a first down.

No, Wimbush didn’t get injured.  Yes, Tyler Newsome got off a magnificent punt to pin the Commodores deep and make the game result moot  (and yes, I get the car).  Yes, Notre Dame won the game.

None of that matters in the grand scheme.  The play call matters.

Four yards.  Four yards against a (let’s be frank) SEC bottom-feeder.  In your home stadium.  Four yards.  In the ninth year of your coaching tenure.

Four yards for a win.  Four yards to take from the opponent that which they want.  Hand the ball off, get the first down.  If you don’t get it, run the clock down as far as you can.  But take control of the outcome.  Run the play, succeed or fail on your own merits.  Play football the way football is meant to be played, especially at Notre Dame.

Run forward.

I can’t imagine another coach running a play like that.  So risky.  So cowardly.

Wait a second, yes I can.  Because that’s exactly what the gentleman to the left did when he was coach at Notre Dame.

November 22nd, 1998.  Notre Dame vs. LSU in Notre Dame Stadium.  Irish head coach and intellectual genius Bob Davie had Jarious Jackson take an intentional safety late in a 39-36 “victory” over LSU.  Trouble is, Jackson injured his knee on the play and was out for the rest of the season.  Without their starting QB, Notre Dame got shut out in LA vs USC, then fell to Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl, wasting an 8-1 start to finish 9-3 and (once again) out of National Championship contention.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen today.  But it could have, and that’s the entire point.

Notre Dame football is supposed to be about success.  What tho’ the odds, the way the Victory March goes.  You prepare for the game, you play the game, you win or lose the game.  Hopefully you succeed, but if you don’t, it’s because the opponent genuinely was better than you, not because they did more to beat themselves than you did to beat them.

You don’t run backwards.  You don’t flail about trying to find a loophole to victory, putting a player at risk for damage in the process.  You don’t do what Brian Kelly asked his charges to do on that last play.  You don’t cower waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.  You run the play and try for the first down.  If you get it, game over.  If you don’t, you have more options and may still win, but you tried.

You play Notre Dame football.

This is why the Brian Kelly era has been so disappointing to me.  It indicates no understanding of what made Notre Dame football great.  It focuses on the short-term near-sighted goals and how the individual can benefit, not what the team needs or what the program needs, or how we advance to national relevance and championships.  It falls back and shows its belly, hoping the opponent will give what they’re unwilling (or unable) to take.  It’s not about winning, it’s about surviving, and that is in no way what Notre Dame should be.

Your team outweighs its opponent both in physical dimensions and recruiting rankings.  You’re at home with myriad advantages.  You can claim victory.

Why do it by default?  Unless you feel you have to.  And that’s an entirely different issue in and of itself.