Rooting against Brian Kelly actually had a pragmatic function for Notre Dame fans inclined to do so on Sunday night.
It all indirectly figures into the poll perception of Kelly’s successor with the Irish, third-year head coach Marcus Freeman and his now-fifth-ranked Irish, who took care of their own business as the preseason No. 7 team in the Associated Press Top 25, Saturday night in College Station, Texas
Tuesday’s ranking update, delayed by college football’s elongated Labor Day weekend slate, reflected how the 62 media members who make up the AP’s voting panel perceived a gritty 23-13 subduing of then-No. 23 Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Also reflected in the Irish poll position is the context on how everyone else opened the season — and that’s where Kelly and his current team, LSU, figures in.
USC, which knocked off the Tigers 27-20 in Las Vegas on Sunday night, is currently Notre Dame’s highest-ranked opponent at …