Notre Dame Football: 5 most gut-wrenching losses of Brian Kelly era
By Jacob Wilson
4. Notre Dame 14, Alabama 42 (Jan. 7, 2012)
After posting back-to-back 8-5 seasons, Kelly started his 2012 campaign off with a bang, taking down Navy 50-10 in Ireland. After a close call against Purdue, Notre Dame’s defense truly took form, limiting the likes of Michigan State, Michigan and Miami to a combined 12 points in three consecutive games.
After surviving a series of nail-biters against Stanford, BYU, and Pitt, the Notre Dame defense carried the team to a National Championship matchup against Alabama. However, the Irish quickly realized they were outmatched. The Irish’s greatest strength, their defense, allowed the Crimson Tide to march down and find the end zone without much of a fight on their first three drives.
Before you knew it, the Irish were facing a 28-point deficit heading into halftime. Things didn’t get much better from there, but the Irish were able to put up a few points in what would end up a 42-14 Alabama victory.
It didn’t feel good at the time, in fact it felt about as bad as it could. However, if there is any consolation, Kelly now knows what it takes to win a National Championship. Whether or not he will be able to take the Irish there during his tenure has yet to be seen. For now, Irish fans will have to accept this disastrous performance as their most recent National Championship memory.