ND rides 3-game streak into bowl

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

This much we know: Brian Kelly didn’t come to Notre Dame to be part of 7-5 seasons. But in this instance, in his first eventful and emotional year as coach of the Irish, he’ll gladly take it.

And the bowl appearance that will follow.

After a 1-3 start, the Irish finished strong, running off three straight wins. And 7-5 sure sounds better than 6-6. Notre Dame may land in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 28.

That would be Notre Dame’s 30th overall bowl appearance, but this one is not so much about the trip and the exposure that comes with it as it is about getting the allotted 15 extra practice days for Kelly and his players to work together.

“You look back at the 1-3 start. How’d we play after that?” Kelly told reporters following Saturday’s victory. “We stubbed twice [Navy and Tulsa] where maybe we shouldn’t have, but our kids never blinked. They kept playing hard. They kept competing. That’s why we are where we are.”

This year’s defense, much maligned after Navy ran over them for 367 yards, responded over the final four games, not allowing a TD for one stretch of 13 quarters.

They beat nationally ranked Utah at home — the school’s first win over a ranked team since 2006 — routed Army and its triple option in Yankee Stadium and then survived quarterback Tommy Rees’ four turnovers to outlast Southern California and its rusty backup quarterback during a rainy finale at the Coliseum.