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The initial Playoff Rankings have been released and Notre Dame opens at number three. What is even more surprising than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish being ranked that high is the manner in which they got there: a commitment to a power running game and a lockdown defense. Nothing in Brian Kelly's first seven years as coach of the Irish, specifically on the offensive side of the ball, even hinted that this was possible.
In fact, it seemed was virtually impossible that the Kelly paradigm could be shifted this far, this fast, toward a recipe for long term program success (and one that the fanbase would embrace). Sure, we have been begging for this brand of football for years, but there was previously zero evidence that Brian Kelly (1.0) had interest in obliging.
And yet, here we are: #3 in the playoff ranking and steamrolling every challenger.
None of this makes sense.... and it is awesome.