With his team 2-0 and looking well positioned to get out of September undefeated, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was a guest on Jim Rome‘s radio show Wednesday afternoon. The Irish head coach shared some interesting thoughts, while also being very candid about the Irish’s 31-0 defeat of Michigan.
When asked if he saw the dominant shutout victory coming, Kelly was strikingly honest.
“No,” Kelly said, almost with a laugh. “I dont think you ever go into the game against Michigan or Stanford and expect to shut anybody out in BCS football. It’s so hard to get shutouts today. You’re expecting to win, but shutouts are so hard to get in college football today.”
Kelly referenced that shutout on Saturday, when he shared the incredible game note that it was the first time Notre Dame had shutout Michigan in the history of the rivalry, also breaking the Wolverines NCAA record of 365-straight games without being skunked, going back to the Reagan era.
A big part of Notre Dame’s quick start has been Everett Golson’s nearly flawless two games. When asked if he thought Golson would get off to such a quick start, Kelly said he wasn’t sure what to expect from his senior quarterback.
“I think he’s been really good. And there’s room for him to get better,” Kelly said. “I didn’t know what to expect because he was off for a long time. I thought he would round into the player that we had expected him to be before he lost the year of eligibility. But he had been off for a year. So I thought it was going to take him a little bit longer to round into the player we were expecting him to be after his first year.”
Of course, no interview would be complete without asking about defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. Notre Dame’s first year coach went viral on Saturday night with an epic fist pump. Kelly had a good laugh when discussing his new assistant and the reaction his celebration received.
“I think it’s awesome. It’s college football. We’ve got 18-21 year old kids,” Kelly said. ""He’s under control during the game in his calls and he’s detailed and organized, but that fist pump was the result of a pick six at the end of the game and I’m all for that. He brings an energy and an enthusiasm to the college game that I think is awesome.”
With the Shamrock Series ahead this weekend, Kelly acknowledged that the idea of giving away a home game every season to go play elsewhere, though (as he also echoed on Tuesday, has come to love it.)
“I wasn’t crazy about it. I didn’t think it was a real good idea to take away one of your home games,” Kelly said. “But now that I’ve been a part of it, I’m in favor of it, because we’ve played in these really neat venues. From Cowboy Stadium, to Yankee Stadium to Ireland. it affords us some geographical recognition in those areas from a recruiting standpoint. The kids get to have some cool designs with the uniform which is big with the young kids. So I’ve really changed my tune since I’ve gotten here.”