LSU head coach Brian Kelly left Notre Dame because he felt like he couldn’t win a national championship there. Well, the Fighting Irish are a win away from proving him very, very wrong.

When Kelly took the job at LSU, debate ensued. Notre Dame fans felt slighted by Kelly’s departure and wanted to prove that South Bend was a place with the resources to win a national title. Freeman got the Irish close, but not any closer than Kelly did in 2012.

Three years after Brian Kelly left for LSU, Notre Dame is in the national championship game. Here's why the players think Marcus Freeman got them this far.

The Fighting Irish were coming off their worst three-year stretch in some time when Kelly was hired. Through his 12 years in South Bend, Kelly compiled seven records of 10 or more wins and coached 55 NFL Draft picks, including 10 first-rounders.

In total, Notre Dame has gone 33-9 under Freeman, with wins in the Gator Bowl, Sun Bowl, and three College Football Playoff games. Over that same period, LSU has gone 29-11 under Kelly, and has never reached the CFP.

LSU head football coach Brian Kelly isn't letting his old school, Notre Dame, hog the spotlight too much in 2025, predicts Paul Finebaum.