He has personally saved Kelly's ass from additional losses more times than I can count vs lower level teams, with his improvisation when the drawn up plays were busted.
He appears to be exposed vs elite teams, because the rest of the offense is exposed beyond the level his improve can compensate for. You're right he's not an elite QB, he's just a pretty good college QB...but if we're really being honest, not based raw talent or NFL potential but based on the overall package of how they play the QB position on the college level, who has Kelly had at ND that was better?