Notre Dame is one of the most prestigious football programs in the nation, and each year comes with added pressure. If you are head coach Brian Kelly, the pressure can sometimes be crushing. From bringing in talent to making sure it performs on the field. It is high risk, high reward stakes. Does it give him a pass for openly questioning his starting quarterback against Duke?

DeShone Kizer is one of the best prospects in all of college football; his size, arm, and mobility are tantalizing to scouts. As Notre Dame flounders this year, it may start calling into question some of his decisions. The worst of all being this interception where he throws the ball to seemingly no one in particular.

Kelly’s reaction will make you cringe, openly asking what his starting quarterback is doing. Are they not on the same page? Is this once perfect marriage now damaged?

Although that was on third down and Notre Dame would’ve had to likely punt anyway, that interception gave Duke a short field at Notre Dame’s 45-yard line. Duke then turned that great field position into points, kicking what would serve as the game-winning field goal in a 38-35 victory. Here was the final play:

As NBC’s Mike Tirico alluded to, Duke came into the game as three-touchdown underdogs, so this was a pretty stunning victory over the Fighting Irish, and Brian Kelly’s “What are you doing?” sort of speaks for Notre Dame’s whole performance. Where do they even go from here?

About Sam Blazer

Sam is a self proclaimed chess prodigy. He once placed seventh in the state of Ohio in Chess when he was in kindergarten. He will rarely if ever mention though that only eight people were entered in this tournament. Contact him at sblaze17@gmail.com