Perhaps that series inspired Kelly to apologize to his players in the locker room. As aired on the "Inside Notre Dame Football" show, Kelly calmly told them: "You were ready to play. You were excited to play. You were energized to play. And I couldn't find a way to win that game for you. I apologize. I've got to look hard at how I'm doing it to figure out a way to get a win for you guys because you deserve it. You deserved to win."