Vorel: Notre Dame wasn't ready, and that's on Brian Kelly

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Irish eyes lied to Brian Kelly.

Before kickoff on Saturday — before Notre Dame’s playoff hopes disappeared into the smoke that billows from Hard Rock Stadium’s home tunnel — the program’s eighth-year head coach spoke to his team.

“I can see it in your eyes,” Kelly told his players, the audio published in a pump-up video on social media before the game. “I can see it in the way you move around here today, that you are absolutely ready to play.”

Absolutely.

Not.

It’s difficult, in the devastating, unexpected wake of a 41-8 Notre Dame no-show, to pinpoint a specific Irish player that was ready for Saturday’s game. Quarterbacks Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book weren’t ready. The oft-praised Irish offensive line wasn’t ready. The wide receivers weren’t ready. The defensive line wasn’t ready. The linebackers weren’t ready. The secondary wasn’t ready.

In a primetime game, with playoff dreams hanging delicately in the balance, Notre Dame’s team wasn’t ready — head coach included.

“Miami was the better team today. They deserved to win. We didn’t see this coming,” a solemn Kelly said after the game. “Obviously, we felt like we were prepared to play at a high level. We did not. We simply have to coach better and have to play better next week against Navy.”

Wimbush has to be better. Notre Dame’s 6-foot-2, 228-pound junior threw two interceptions and missed on seven consecutive throws before being temporarily replaced by sophomore Ian Book on Saturday. He also overthrew a wide open Equanimeous St. Brown in the end zone on the game's opening drive.

Notre Dame’s defensive line has to be better. Mike Elston’s unit, which exceeded expectations through the first two months of the Irish schedule, surrendered 237 rushing yards, 5.6 yards per carry and three touchdowns in defeat. The Irish managed one quarterback hurry and zero sacks against No. 7 Miami (9-0).

The running game has to be better. A group that averaged 324.8 rushing yards per game and 7.04 yards per carry in its first eight games was reduced to 109 rushing yards and three yards per rush against an athletic, swarming Hurricane defense. Junior running back Josh Adams finished with just 40 rushing yards, giving him a grand total of 62 yards in his last two games.

But the common denominator?

Kelly has to be better. It starts and ends at the top.

Look, No. 3 Notre Dame’s much-maligned, eighth-year head coach deserves plenty of credit for leading this team back into the playoff picture. He hired the right coordinators in Mike Elko and Chip Long. He hired the right strength coach in Matt Balis. He was smart enough to honestly, unmercifully evaluate himself and improve his program.

The Irish (8-2) have improved (to the tune of seven consecutive wins), and Kelly is responsible for that.

The Irish were also utterly unprepared to win on Saturday, and Kelly is responsible for that, too.

This wasn’t the 2012-13 BCS National Championship Game (although it was played in the same stadium), when Notre Dame was physically overmatched by Alabama. The Irish have proven that they have the athletes to beat Miami, a team they defeated 30-27 in South Bend last season.

This was about preparation. This was about game plan. This was about execution, and focus, and poise.

A series of bottles were thrown at Notre Dame’s team buses as they pulled into Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, and after watching the game, that’s hard to believe.

Because that would mean the Irish showed up.

And they didn’t. Not really. Not in a game where they fell behind 34-0, the program’s largest deficit since it trailed USC 35-0 in 2014. Not in a game where they coughed up four turnovers that were converted into 24 Miami points. Not in a game they were favored to win that was over by halftime.

The real surprise is not that the Irish lost, but how they lost. Thoroughly. Emphatically. More-than-a-little embarrassingly.

Turns out, the “over-rated” chants that rang through the Hard Rock Stadium rafters in the fourth quarter on Saturday were loud, proud … and true.

Kelly never saw it coming. And really, that’s the problem.

mvorel@ndinsider.com

574-235-6428

Twitter: @mikevorel