Coach Brian Kelly said yesterday the Irish have nothing to prove in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff against the first Alabama.
Notre Dame last faced Alabama in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, a 42-14 defeat. Two years ago, the Irish lost 30-3 to Clemson in the CFP semis at the Cotton Bowl.
“We knock on the door every year, play really good teams and good opponents, and they are elite football teams,” Kelly said. “I do not know why this narrative still pops up when we are always in the game. No, we have not won a national championship yet. That is correct. And you know, I do not change the record. But we are each years there and we make it just like everyone else. ‘
Nr. 4 Notre Dame is a 20-point underdog for Alabama, one of the biggest underdogs this season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, this will be Notre Dame’s seventh appearance in a BCS or New Year’s Six game since 1998, when the BCS era began. The Irish are 0-6 in these matches, with a total of 144 points. None of the six were decided by less than 14 points. This year, they face the challenge of facing an Alabama team that was the No. 1 team and has three Heisman Trophy finalists in Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris.
“Only one team can celebrate the end of the year,” Kelly said. “We are going to keep beating, and we will keep coming back here, and that is our job. It is our challenge every year to compete for a national championship, and we will continue to do so.”
Kelly said before the semifinals against Clemson in 2018 that the program had undergone several changes, including in the strength and conditioning program, field staff and recruiting.
“We are still being compared to what happened in 2012, fair or unfair,” coach Brian Kelly said in 2018. “We need to set a new kind of parameter there.”
But that match ended in disappointment. This year, Notre Dame achieved the No. 4 spot, despite the biggest loss by an eventual playoff team in the playoffs (24 points in a 34-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC title game).
Despite a top-five ranking all season and a 47-40 victory over Clemson on November 7, the Irish know this is their most important opportunity to prove that they are one of the best programs in the country.
“It’s motivating,” said running back Kyren Williams. “Not everyone in the world believes in us, and that’s OK, because we do not want anyone but us to believe in us. We are going to go there on Friday and do what we do best. To be an underdog “is nothing new to us, and we will continue to prove to the world who we are.”