Brian Kelly ties Knute Rockne to Notre Dame win over Purdue on Saturday – Inside the Irish

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A lot has changed during Brian Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame – from a video board and artificial turf in the stadium to four consecutive years, and counting, double-digit wins – but some things remain the same. Kelly’s record 105th victory at the top of the Irish came at the expense of the same team he beat for his first, a team that hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since 2007.

Notre Dame’s defense led the way in a 27-13 win over Purdue on Saturday, giving Kelly six wins over the Boilermakers as he tied Knute Rockne for most wins as a head coach Irishman with 105. Junior running back Kyren Williams (top) sealed the win with a 51-yard touchdown run, passing several potential tacklers midway through the fourth quarter, his second trip of the day to the end zone .

“He’s crazy,” fifth-year wide receiver Avery Davis said of Williams, who finished with a total of 130 yards scrimmage. “His ability to just maneuver in tight spaces to make people miss, the strength to stand, I was right next to him, so I probably didn’t have the best view. It was just amazing, just looking at him for a second I forgot I had to block for him at the same time.

Kelly and Rockne both took 12 seasons to reach 105 wins, but Kelly knows and recognizes that his aspect ratio to get there is different from that of Rockne, who had a 0.881 winning percentage and three national championships, compared to the 0.729 of Kelly, one appearance in one title game and two playoff spots.

“I see it a little differently, in the sense that I think it means longevity,” Kelly said this week in anticipation of tying the record. “It means stability. It means winning.

“It doesn’t mean anything else compared to the comparisons or who is better. These things really don’t mean much to me. I came here to do a job, and it was to bring Notre Dame back to its winning traditions. We did it by being consistent and having stability. That’s what [105 wins] means more than anything else to me.

That consistency and stability have been the building blocks of the past four+ years under Kelly, with the Irish going 46-8 since the start of the 2017 season (a 0.852 winning percentage), including 26 consecutive wins at home and 35 consecutive wins. on unclassified opponents thanks to the dispatch of the Boilermakers (2-1).

The No. 12 Notre Dame offense has shown flashes, certainly more than a week ago, but it has always struggled to find consistency. Long touchdown passes to Williams (39 yards) and Davis (62 yards), as well as Williams’ weaving score, provided an undue share (152 yards) of the total offensive output of 343 yards. But it is also undoubtedly the conception of the offense.

“I think we all knew coming out of camp that we were a really talented attack,” said Davis. “I think the most important thing we preach is to be ready when the opportunity arises. It was the thing in the future.

“Like my day today, my opportunity, my number was called, so I took advantage of it.”

Williams’ score gave the Irish their initial lead and showed the overall risk adopted by Coan, threading the needle between two Purdue defenders on a fourth and one. From there, however, Coan struggled with his accuracy, missing on repeated down shots to main receiver Kevin Austin (and later surviving a sad drop from senior Braden Lenzy from a 39-yard touchdown) before finally hooking up with Davis. Coan finished the day 15 of 31 passing 223 yards.

“I think my timing was a bit off on some passes,” Coan said. “I have to be much more specific. It’s a cool game about soccer. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be a complete game.

Davis ‘dash gave the Irish wiggle room they would need, similar to TJ Jones’ 5-yard touchdown in 2010 that gave Notre Dame a 20-3 lead in Kelly’s debut, ultimately a 23-12 win.

At the time, the Irish had known three head coaches in nine years and consistency and stability seemed like far-fetched dreams. Now Notre Dame’s biggest problem is not winning enough, although Williams’ punctuation mark on Saturday may have allayed that concern for the first time this season.

KELLY DIDN’T DO IT ALONE
Modern college football coaches rarely have the opportunity to win 105 games in a program. Even if successful, it usually just leads to the next job. If they don’t succeed or if changes occur elsewhere in the university, they leave.

This was the case at USC, after meeting three coaches and four athletic directors during Kelly’s time in South Bend, a comparison Kelly made directly on Saturday, never citing Trojans by name but calling them of “our rival on the west coast.” Which went through “a number of different head coaches”. Only one school corresponds to these terms.

Kelly experienced stability all around him at Notre Dame, improving his chances of building it within the football schedule. Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick took office two years before Kelly’s arrival, and University President Fr. John Jenkins’ term precedes Swarbrick by three others.

“I think it takes a lot to be in place for [105 wins] happen, ”Kelly said Saturday night. “Fr. John has been with me on this trip, Jack has been on this trip. Consistency, leadership, alignment, all of these things have to come together to get to this point. … “

“We have it with our leadership, we have it with our athletic director, and we have had it in training because we have the roster. Because of this, it has helped a lot to be consistent in winning football matches. “

NOT AN ASTERISK
Of course, the 105-win tally includes the 21 wins that the NCAA left vacant between 2012 and 2013 due to a handful of players receiving ineligible academic aid. Notre Dame has regularly counted these vacant wins in the stats, a move that has been almost universally hailed and one that the NCAA doesn’t seem too bothered with.

Technically, the Irish have to recognize these 21 vacant wins in any stats that include them. But the point is, Notre Dame played these games. Kelly was the coach. They won.

And if that warrants an asterisk, well, the graphics service can make an asterisk look like a clover.

SUMMARY OF RATING
First shift
9:58 – Purdue field goal. Mitchel Fineran 35 meters. Purdue 3, Notre Dame 0. (10 games, 34 yards, 3:41)

Second quarter
1:51 p.m. – Notre-Dame touchdown. Jack Coan Kyren Williams’ 39-yard pass. Jonathan Doerer PAT good. Notre Dame 7, Purdue 3. (5 plays, 66 yards, 2:14)
8:45 am – Notre-Dame field goal. Doerer 28 meters. Notre Dame 10, Purdue 3. (10 plays, 48 ​​yards, 3:13)

Third quarter
11:06 – Purdue field goal. Fineran 34 meters. Notre Dame 10, Purdue 6. (9 games, 50 yards, 3:48)
9:59 a.m. – Notre-Dame touchdown. Avery Davis passes 62 yards from Coan. Doerer PAT good. Notre Dame 17, Purdue 6. (3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07)
7:08 am – Landing of Purdue. Jack Plummer’s 2 yard pass from Milton Wright. Fineran PAT good. Notre Dame 17, Purdue 13. (6 games, 75 yards, 2:51)

Fourth trimester
10:50 – The basket of Notre-Dame. Doerer 30 meters. Notre Dame 20, Purdue 13. (11 plays, 53 yards, 5:20)
6:05 am – Notre-Dame touchdown. Williams’ 51-yard run. Doerer PAT good. Notre Dame 27, Purdue 13. (1 set, 51 yards, 0:11)



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