re: Back when Notre Dame said they couldn't win because of their academic standard

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he'd never get the talent needed at Notre Dame to win it all.

They changed their policy due to him leaving like that.

despite making it to the national championship game and ran into a buzzsaw....sounds like a kiffiny decision.

I don't have enough talent to win a title, despite being in a title game, or a couple playoff wins away

Umm, not sure what you're trying to argue.

Kelly's Notre Dame team made the national championship game due to name and record. It was undefeated (for what that's worth with their schedule). That was the best team he'd been able to assemble.
Alabama beat them 42-14, in a game they stepped off the gas in the second half.
Same Alabama team won tight games vs UGA in the SEC Championship, and earlier LSU on the road. Had lost to A&M with Manziel in a close game.

Kelly understood- his best team at Notre Dame would not survive in the SEC. There was a talent ceiling. He played a home and home with UGA and lost both, started playing ACC teams and faced Clemson. He beat them once in 3 tries, the covid year. That was a home game, Clemson was missing their QB, and it went to 2 OTs. That was the only "top" team Notre Dame beat while he was there.

No, he wasn't getting enough talent to win a title there

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Kelly's best ND team was probably 2015; that team when healthy took Clemson (who lost a reasonably tight game against Alabama in the title that year) in Death Valley down to the very last play. That team was a walking hospital by the second half of the year, though.

2012 schedule was a good schedule - top 15 or so SoS at the end of the year (prior to playing Alabama). We played Pac 12 champion Stanford (back when they were good), Big XII co-champion Oklahoma, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, BYU, and USC, among others.