SAN DIEGO – For Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, an already grueling week of preparation for the Navy's bizarre triple-option offensive extended into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

A two-hour drive from the Dodger Stadium, the Boston Red Sox loved needing a World Series record of seven hours and twenty minutes to lose the third game. Even with the midshipmen looming and a season without defeat on the line, Kelly remained motionless in her hotel room.

"I watched the 18 innings," Kelly said after a 44-22 win over the Navy on Saturday night. "I'm a moron, I'm a jerk.

Kelly, born in Everett, Mass., And raised in Chelsea, just north of Boston, was in a good mood after seeing his third player, Fighting Irish, improve to 8-0 behind Ian Book's performance , exceeding 330 yards, and balanced. attack that set up nearly 600 meters of total attack.

Dexter Williams scored 142 yards and three touchdowns, but earned the ball the ball for his lockout, Kelly said, including in a snap shot. Williams, who is working hard to become a more complete player, has also caught three passes off the backcourt.

A pair of rookies, left-hand goalkeeper Aaron Banks and linebacker Drew White took advantage of the opportunity, as defensive captain Drue Tranquill injured his ankle in the second series of Navy.

Tranquill, although he was embarked in a dramatic way, was already out of breath by the time the Irish left for the team bus. Kelly did not exclude that his senior manager will be back next Saturday at Northwestern.

"It's Drue Tranquill," said Kelly about the second defensive tackle. "He may be jogging when we get back to the hotel. He is just a unique individual. I will not count it.

As Kelly knows very well, his Red Sox should never be counted, even after failing several times in the winning race in a 3-2 defeat in the marathon that has tried its patience to excess.

"The 13th inning, and they do not take the ball out of the infield?", He said in simulated protest at the end of the post-match press conference. "They are going to have a statue of (Nathan) Eovaldi next to (Red) Auerbach at Faneuil Hall. I'm serious."

Kelly was just starting to warm up.

"The second thing I learned was to put a runner on the second goal in the 10th inning," he added, endorsing the shortening tactics of the game currently used in the leagues. minor. "I had to take a nap this afternoon."

While Kelly was angry, the Sox were putting the finishing touches to a return win in Game 4 against the Dodgers. Climbing a 4-0 hole in seventh place, they earned a victory over a fourth World Series title of the last 15 seasons.

This is not the four national titles in seven years that the Irish claimed in the 1940s, and it is not even the five Heisman trophies in 14 years that Notre Dame won between 1943 (Angelo Bertelli) and 1956 ( Paul Hornung).

But it's always enough to send a former linebacker from Assumption College to the memories of the Red Sox lining the walls of his office. Honestly, Kelly is also very proud of his current football team, which avoids disasters as the rest of the world of college football stumbles into landmines.

This week, Texas No. 7, Florida No. 11 and Washington No. 13 paved the way.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, whose program knows the Irish as well as anyone else because of his annual meetings, leaves the task of explaining the reason for this title.

"The team is very focused," he said after the 92nd consecutive meeting between schools. "They are really good in a lot of different places. They are ranked # 3 for a reason. We have already played against coach Kelly. It is one of his best teams.

Navy being from the Navy, a gap of 27-0 was reduced to two scores early in the fourth quarter when Book wrote (forgive) one of the star plays of his dazzling opening match at five starts . Faced with Banks and the midfield break, Book turned away from the race to buy time, while he calmly watched the ground.

Back after an absence of three games with an infected knee purse, Jafar Armstrong was inspired by his former life as a catcher and went on to look for space. Book finally hit it on the right for a 27-yard gain and perhaps the biggest of the 10 conversions in third and fourth runs (out of a total of 18 tries) for Notre Dame.

"It was a puzzle," she said. "He spent a lot of time there. Stayed alive, stayed alive. If we could stop here, it would have been huge. He made this game. "

Week after week, the Irish have just enough to keep their baseball-loving trainer in a good mood.