Brian Kelly Wants to Bring A Little Notre Dame to LSU?

Brian Kelly made clear the reasons he jumped from Notre Dame to LSU, but the veteran head coach wants to bring something from Notre Dame with him

Sep 1, 2012; Dublin, IRELAND; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly yells from the sideline in the third quarter against the Navy Midshipmen at Aviva Stadium. Notre Dame won 50-10. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Kelly made it crystal clear that he jumped ship from Notre Dame to LSU because the resources to win a national championship were simply better.

He made clear over time that he could more easily recruit the football talent in the state of Louisiana and produce great success than having to recruit coast-to-coast like he did at Notre Dame.

And the training tables. Oh my goodness, those training tables. Remember the fascination Kelly had when he was first being toured around the Baton Rouge campus?

For all the things Kelly seems to love about LSU, there is one thing Notre Dame has continued to do that he wishes the Tigers would get in on.

Opening a season in Ireland.

Brian Kelly on LSU Potentially Playing in Ireland

Kelly spoke on the first day of SEC media days in Dallas on Monday. During his roughly 25-minute session with the media he shared his excitement for the season, was asked a bunch of questions about Texas even though LSU and the Longhorns don't meet in 2024, and shared his belief in star defender Harold Perkins among other things.

Really the only particularly interesting part for Notre Dame fans was what Kelly wants to bring to LSU that Notre Dame has done for a number of years.

Play a game in Ireland.

“We’ve done such a great job with the LSU brand throughout the country, I think the next step for us is international,” Kelly said. “I felt the travel there is so clean and easy. Ireland has been such a great destination for other football programs to go and play.”

Remembering Notre Dame's Ireland Trip with Brian Kelly

Notre Dame opened what was the memorable 2012 season in Ireland, easily disposing of Navy by a 50-10 decision.

Theo Riddick and the late George Atkinson III both ran for a pair of touchdowns while Everett Golson threw for one to receiver Robby Toma.

The most memorable play of the game was when defensive end Stephon Tuitt recovered a fumble and returned 70-yards for a touchdown to stretch the Fighting Irish lead to 27-0 just before halftime.

Notre Dame would win 50-10 and that was clearly a positive memory for Kelly, but what about the next week?

Notre Dame was clearly a very good team in 2012 as it went 12-0 in the regular season and played in the BCS national championship game. The week after the blowout of Navy in Ireland though, the season was almost sent for a spin as Purdue nearly knocked off the Irish in South Bend.

Notre Dame was tied with Purdue late in the fourth quarter when Tommy Rees relieved Golson at quarterback and led the Irish on a last-minute drive for Kyle Brindza to kick the game-winning field goal in the 20-17 win with just seven seconds remaining.

As great as the trip to Ireland was, the trip back and essentially short week that came with it was no sinch for Kelly or Notre Dame.

If Kelly is to get LSU to make that trip my guess would be that he learned from the close call over a decade ago and that the Tigers would be sitting at home with their feet up a week later.

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