Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly defends lopsided loss to Alabama, urges fans 'Don't jump off a bridge'

Notre Dame just lost another postseason game by double digits, but things aren’t all that bad, at least according to head coach Brian Kelly.

Though the Fighting Irish were able to scrape across a late touchdown on Friday, the Rose Bowl against Alabama was not close from the jump. The Crimson Tide raced out to a 14-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game and never looked back, finishing off the win with a 31-14 final score.

It was yet another disappointing performance by Notre Dame, in a similar vein to the previous College Football Playoff appearance or the BCS Championship Game appearance years ago. In those matchups, the Fighting Irish were blown out by Clemson and again by Alabama, respectively.

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Despite what appears to be a growing trend, Kelly took to his postgame press conference and actually defended what looked like an overmatched performance against Alabama. He essentially said everyone loses to Alabama and Clemson these days:

Brian Kelly: "I don't have a unique problem at Notre Dame. Look at the scores everybody had against Alabama and Clemson."

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 2, 2021

Kelly also pointed to the fact that all Notre Dame really needs is just a bit more firepower, though one would assume recruiting more firepower falls on the head coach:

Brian Kelly: "We just needed more firepower, quite frankly. That’s it. There is no other wider story than we came up a little short with making a few plays."

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 2, 2021

Kelly also had a request to Notre Dame fans everywhere, urging them not to throw themselves off of a bridge or tall building after the latest loss:

Kelly assured Notre Dame fans that the program will be back on this stage again. "Don't jump off a bridge or a building."

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 2, 2021

That’s definitely one reaction to another terrible postseason loss, though it’s safe to assume it’s not one that is well-received by the Irish faithful.