clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly’s Monday presser moves from Saturday’s embarrassing performance vs. Michigan to ACC foe Virginia Tech

Well, where do the Irish go from here? After Saturday night’s 45-14 humiliating defeat at the hands of Michigan, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly addressed reporters on the quarterback situation, finding an identity again and holding everyone accountable, along with some Hokies talk.

NCAA Football: Notre Dame at Michigan
Brian Kelly and rain go together like lamb and tuna fish.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Put the bottle down, my friend.

It’s going to get better.

Maybe. I think. It should, right?

Saturday night was certainly one of the most embarrassing performances in the Brian Kelly era, as the Irish got curbstomped by heated rival Michigan in primetime, 45-14. The Irish racked up just 180 total yards of offense in the defeat and any hopes of making a return to College Football Playoff died in Ann Arbor, which just makes it feel even worse for Irish fans.

But, despite the playoff chances being gone, the season’s not over for the Irish. There’s still a long way to go and that path begins this coming Saturday against an improving Virginia Tech side.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly kicked off the week with his typical 30-minutes press conference on Monday with some opening thoughts on the Michigan loss, Virginia Tech’s improvement over the last few weeks and then spent much of the presser answering questions about the quarterback position and his team bouncing back from such a humiliating defeat.

Before Kelly took the podium ...

About 45 minutes before Kelly took the podium, The Athletic’s Pete Sampson tweeted out what many throughout the fan base had already knew and that’s Michael Young would be leaving Notre Dame’s program and entering the transfer portal.

Kelly would go on to confirm that Young is in fact entering the portal, along with some key bullet points on injuries following the Michigan loss.

Diving into the actual presser itself, starting with the Hokies

Death, taxes, Bud Foster as the DC of Virginia Tech

The Hokie defense has given up over 30 points in four of their seven games this season, but one of those games was a six-overtime thriller against North Carolina (which the Hokies won, 43-41).

Still, Bud Foster remains one of the sport’s best defensive minds and his defense has picked off six passes and forced three fumbles so far this season, which is below their high standards on that side of the ball.

What about Jafar Armstrong?

This season has been a struggle for the dynamic Jafar Armstrong since the early moments of the season opener and Saturday was no different for him in his “extended return, seeing as he only played three total snaps against USC.

The Ian Book portion of the press conference

A bulk of Kelly’s presser surrounded the quarterback situation and the regression of Ian Book’s play from last season to this season.

And to answer this question ...

What was worse: Miami in ‘17 or Saturday in Ann Arbor?

In case you forgot either on purpose or not, Notre Dame was in a prime position to make the 2017 College Football Playoff before a nightmareish 43-8 shellacking from Miami in primetime dashed all hopes of the Irish’s first playoff berth two seasons ago.

Saturday seemingly did the same thing and Kelly was asked about the Michigan loss compared to the loss in Miami Gardens.

What was the major detail in the Irish losing on Saturday?

How do the Irish find their groove again?

Kelly’s word of the week for the program has become “accountable”; something he said the Irish were not on Saturday.

10-2 may not be the Playoff, but it’s better than continue to falter into an 8-4, 7-6 season

You can watch Brian Kelly’s press conference from Monday in full down below, which starts around the :34 mark: