Brian Kelly sounded a bit perplexed and a tad peeved Monday when The Topic arose yet again. The question for the Notre Dame football coach began with the phrase, “Do you guys have something to prove … “
Kelly has tried to bury The Topic for years now—the question of his program’s performance in big games against elite opponents. He thought he had it in the grave in November, when Notre Dame beat Clemson in dramatic double overtime. The No. 1 team was beaten, the field was stormed, The Topic was dead that night, right?
No. The Atlantic Coast Conference championship game rematch was an orange shovel to a leprechaun’s face: Tigers 34, Fighting Irish 10.