James Franklin not alone in struggles vs. Top 10 opponents

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Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Brian Kelly – Notre Dame

2010
None

2011
0-1 L @ Stanford (4) 28-14

2012
1-1 W @ Michigan State (10) 20-3
1-2 L Alabama (2) 42-12 (BCS Championship)

2013
1-3 L @ Stanford (8) 27-20

2014
1-4 L @ Florida State (2) 31-27

2015
1-5 L Ohio State (7) 44-28

2016
None

2017
1-6 L @ Miami (7) 41-8

2018
2-6 W Stanford (7) 38-17
2-7 L Clemson (2) 30-3

2019
2-8 L @ Georgia (3) 23-17

2020
3-8 W Clemson (1) 47-40
3-9 L Clemson (4) 34-10 (ACC Championship)
3-10 L Alabama (1) 31-14 (CFP)

2021
3-11 L Cincinnati (7) 24-13

Conclusion

I’m not exactly sure what it says about a coach who has compiled a 3-11 record against top 10 foes, yet they’ve played in the BCS Championship once and made one appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Is Notre Dame maybe overrated at times?

Nah, it can’t be that.

And I thought Notre Dame played a really tough schedule year in and year out due to them being independent? Well in the eight seasons between 2010-2017 they played a total of seven top 10 teams.

Based on this information, Notre Dame simply does not play top 10 teams very often. And when they do, Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish lose an awful lot.

Sound familiar??

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