Ask a Notre Dame fan what the Irish did under Brian Kelly in just about any big game and be ready to be greeted with a long sigh or something of the sort. Yes, he led Notre Dame to a win over No. 1 Clemson in 2020 (as the Tigers played without college football’s best quarterback that year in Trevor Lawrence and three of their regular defensive starters), but beyond that there is the 2012 road win over Oklahoma and that’s pretty much it.
Kelly had his first really big game at LSU on Saturday as the Tigers played host to No. 8 Tennessee. After a special teams debacle to start the game (another shocker), the boat race on the Bayou was on as the Vols sent the home crowd to their cars early in a 40-13 rout.
As you can imagine, Notre Dame and college football fans alike reacted to a team coached by Kelly failing to show up in a big game. Here are just a few of the best reactions.