LSU head coach Brian Kelly left Notre Dame because he felt like he couldn’t win a national championship there. Well, the Fighting Irish are a win away from proving him very, very wrong.

This loss for Notre Dame to Ohio State in the national title game wasn't Alabama 2013 all over again, but there were similarites. The differences were huge, though.

Three years after Brian Kelly left for LSU, Notre Dame is in the national championship game. Here's why the players think Marcus Freeman got them this far.

The Fighting Irish were coming off their worst three-year stretch in some time when Kelly was hired. Through his 12 years in South Bend, Kelly compiled seven records of 10 or more wins and coached 55 NFL Draft picks, including 10 first-rounders.

In total, Notre Dame has gone 33-9 under Freeman, with wins in the Gator Bowl, Sun Bowl, and three College Football Playoff games. Over that same period, LSU has gone 29-11 under Kelly, and has never reached the CFP.

Kelly is "rooting for" his old program heading into the National Championship Game, excited for his former players.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman shares his emotions after the Irish's loss to Ohio State in the National Championship.

Jack Kiser walked up the tunnel toward Notre Dame ’s locker room beneath Mercedes-Benz Stadium, tears welling in his bloodshot eyes, as if the linebacker had anything else to pour out. Behind him, all the scarlet and white confetti had fallen as Ohio State ’s national championship party swayed,