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.

Kelly is "rooting for" his old program heading into the National Championship Game, excited for his former players.

Ryan Day and his Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 in the College Football National Championship, vindicating Brian Kelly (for no

This loss for Notre Dame to Ohio State in the national title game wasn't Alabama 2013 all over again, but there were similarites. The differences were huge, though.

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.

Brian Kelly recruited a good portion of this year's Notre Dame squad, but the LSU football coach swears he isn't jealous.

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.

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.

Jack Kiser walked up the tunnel toward Notre Dame ’s locker room beneath Mercedes-Benz Stadium, tears welling in his bloodshot eyes, as if the linebacker had anything else to pour out. Behind him, all the scarlet and white confetti had fallen as Ohio State ’s national championship party swayed,

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman took ownership of Monday’s night 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. "You're always making mistakes, but those types of detrimental mistakes when you play a really,