Brian Kelly gestures during the game with the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 27, 2010 in Los Angeles. Notre Dame won 20-16, breaking an 8-game skid against the Trojans. The Irish finished the season with a 7-5 record.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, right, shakes hands with Army's coach Rich Ellerson after Notre Dame beat Army 27-3 at Yankee Stadium in New York, Nov. 20, 2010.

"We're playing fast. We're playing physical," head coach Brian Kelly said after the game. "We don't look like a team in November that is not physically stronger, not in better condition."

Kelly runs on the field ahead of his team before the start of the game against Army at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Notre Dame head coach Brain Kelly, right, greets Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham following the Irish's 28-3 win over the Utes on Seniior Day in South Bend, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010.

Notre Dame head coach Brain Kelly talks with the offense during the third quarter of the game against Utah.

Irish head coach Brian Kelly watches as his team takes on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 30, 2010 in South Bend, Ind. Tulsa defeated Notre Dame 28-27 after ND's freshman QB Tommy Rees threw an inteception in the game's final seconds. The Irish were alread in field goal range when the turnover occurred.

"We knew we had a one-on-one match up with Mike Floyd, and certainly wanted to give that an opportunity for success and score a touchdown there," Kelly said. "We took a timeout there to talk about it. But I think we all saw what happened."

Kelly talks to his offensive team including Cierre Wood (20) during a timeout against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. QB Dayne Crist was knocked out of the game with a season-ending knee injury. Despite throwing a game-ending INT when it looked like the Irish would pull out the win, Kelly was happy with freshman QB Tommy Rees.

"Awesome. Are you kidding me? I couldn't be more happy for the kid," Kelly said. "True freshman goes out there, hasn't played. He just competes."

Notre Dame running back Cierre Wood (20) is stopped by Navy's Taylor Simmons (54) and De-Von Richardson (3) inside the one yard-line on third down in the second quarter at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 23, 2010. The Irish were overwhelmed by Navy's option running attack, losing 35-17.

"You get what you deserve," head coach Brian Kelly said immediately after the game. "Navy was the better team today. We had no answer for them."

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly complains about the lack of a penalty as his team plays Western Michigan during the second half in South Bend, Ind., Oct. 16, 2010. Notre Dame defeated Western Michigan 44-20. The irish were sluggish in the first half but impressed in the second.

"I was not happy obviously about the first half and we hadn't played that way this year," Kelly said. "At halftime, we had a little chat about that, and I think that chat went pretty good."

Notre Dame kicker David Ruffer celebrates hitting a 50-yard field goal in front of Pittsburgh cornerback Jason Hendricks during the second half in South Bend, Ind., Oct. 9, 2010. Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 23-17. The irish jumped out to an early lead, but had to hold on to a 6-point lead for the win.

"As we've shown, we're really good at stubbing our toes," Kelly said. "But that's us. I'm trying to get used to it or it's going to make me look really old, really quick."

Irish WR Michael Floyd is hit by BC cornerback DeLeon Gause while pulling in a pass during the first quarter in Boston, Oct. 2, 2010. Twenty-one first-quarter points helped ND snap its three-game losing streak with a 31-13 victory over Boston College.

"I didn't come in thinking that we were ready for the national championship game," Kelly said. "But the process for us has been exactly what I thought it would be. We're developing a mentality and a toughness, a physical and mental toughness, that all the teams that I coach want to display. We just have to work really hard on that principle."

Kelly, left, greets, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh before the start of their game in South Bend, Ind., Sept. 25, 2010. Stanford scored 24 unanswered points to dominate Notre Dame and win 37-14. After the game, Kelly shouldered much of the blame.

"One of the unique things I'm learning at Notre Dame, early in the season, you're not going to get great film sometimes," Kelly said. "So you have to prepare for every eventuality. I put a lot of that on my shoulders."

Kelly watches as his team takes on the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium.

"I felt after the Michigan State game we established where we wanted to go offensively," Kelly said. "We took a bit of a step back in this game. We're in the process of evaluating where are the things we were missing in this ballgame. I'd like to have a little more balance."

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, left, and Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio talk before their game Sept. 18, 2010, in East Lansing, Mich. Aaron Bates threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Gantt on an audacious fake field goal in overtime, giving Michigan State a 34-31 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night.

"It came down to one play," Kelly said after the game. "Michigan State executed the play. We did not."

Kelly watches as his team takes on the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 11, 2010 in South Bend, Ind. Michigan defeated Notre Dame 28-24.

Michigan QB Denard Robinson dominated the Irish with a school-record 502 yards total offense for a QB, including 258 yards rushing on 28 carries and 244 more passing. He also directed the game-winning TD drive, scoring himself from 2 yards out with 27 seconds left.

Kelly waits to enter the field with his team before a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish put forth a strong effort and almost came back despite losing QB Dayne Crist for part of the game. Brian Kelly didn't want to talk about moral victories, though.

"I'm going to tell our team tomorrow that's the last time I want to hear us talk about Notre Dame playing hard for four quarters," Kelly said. "That is now a given. Notre Dame needs to execute and win football games."

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly celebrates after Notre Dame defeated Purdue 23-12 in his debut as the Irish's head coach Sept. 4, 2010 in South Bend.

"Maybe this is just my background, but anytime I've gone into a stadium with 81,000, I've always played up to that opponent. Now, it was 81,000, and it was our people," Kelly said. "The crowd was into it and it was a great advantage."

Kelly watches as his team takes on the Purdue Boilermakers at Notre Dame Stadium.

"We've got some work to do. We are not there yet, believe me. Trust me. But we took a step today and we're going to keep pounding at it and working at it," Kelly said after the game.