Brian Kelly downplays ACC Championship experience for SEC title game

In the 2020 season, Notre Dame was forced to join the ACC for the season. The Irish had to do this in order to have a somewhat normal season during the pandemic-shortened season. That year, Brian Kelly led Notre Dame to the ACC Championship Game, his first championship game since he was at Central Michigan.

Brian Kelly was asked if this championship game experience could be applied to the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. However, he doesn’t think there is much to take from that game.

“Not really that much,” Brian Kelly said. “I mean, I think in terms of just balancing your schedule because you’re losing opportunity relative to staying ahead of it in recruiting.”

For Brian Kelly, it’s important to prepare for a championship game the same way that his LSU team would any other. The opponent is a big challenge, but you need to maintain your schedule.

“I think it’s just balancing your schedule more than anything else. The preparation is the same. There’s no difference. We’re preparing just as if this is a 13th game. Obviously the best team in the country, but preparing it the same way. No change there. You have to adjust your schedule accordingly based upon not being able to do recruiting.”

In that ACC Championship Game, Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team lost to Clemson 34-10. He won the Big East twice while he coached Cincinnati, but the league didn’t have a conference championship game at that point. Prior to that, he won the 2006 MAC Championship Game while at Central Michigan.

Brian Kelly on LSU’s championship ceiling

A lot of people were surprised when Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU. However, it soon became clear that Kelly was at a point in his career where he wanted to win championships and felt it would be easier to do so at LSU.

“Look, there are so many different elements. I think Notre Dame has a great opportunity as well. That’s why I was there for 12 years. We had opportunities certainly in the College Football Playoff, playing for a national championship. We were right on the doorstep of playing for championships and winning national championships,” Brian Kelly said.

“What is unique about LSU is the in-state recruiting. We didn’t have that certainly at Notre Dame. It was much more national. So you’ve got to go into each state and pull out the best players in those states at Notre Dame, whereas you have it right here in the state of Louisiana. This is the flagship university. Kids want to go to LSU. They grow up wanting to be a Tiger. There’s a bit of an advantage from that perspective right out of the gates when it comes to recruiting.”