Kelly gets milestone victory for Irish
Notre Dame coach wins 100th at school, tying Holtz for No. 2
Boston Notre Dame has a history of following big wins with letdowns against rival Boston
College.
This time the Irish wound up making some history for their coach at the Eagles’ expense.
Ian Book passed for three touchdowns and ran for another and the second-ranked Irish overcame an early deficit to roll to a 45-31 victory over BC on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish’s eighth
straight win in the series between FBS’S only Catholic institutions gave coach Brian Kelly his 100th career victory at the school, tying him with Lou Holtz for second all-time. He is now just five behind coach Knute Rockne.
“One hundred wins. I was gonna say it felt like 100 years. But it’s not something I spend time thinking about. I will when I’m not coaching anymore,”
Kelly said. “It means I’ve had a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches. I’m fortunate to be at Notre Dame that long. It’s not easy to win that many games at Notre Dame.”
Coming off a thrilling victory against then-no. 1 Clemson, Notre Dame (8-0, 7-0 ACC) racked up a season-high 561 total yards against BC.
The last time Notre Dame beat a top-ranked team was 1993, and then the following week the Fighting Irish were upset by BC on a last-second field goal.
Book made sure there would be no similar letdown. He finished 20-for-27 for 283 yards and ran for 85 yards. His past two games have been about as well as he has played in his three seasons as Notre Dame’s starter.
“I just knew that there was more for me. I knew I could take an extra step,” he said. “It’s starting to add up and I think I’m just trying to take it to the next level. ... I think I’m just elevating at the right time.”
Ben Skowronek caught all three of Book’s TD passes, but also had one of three Notre Dame fumbles on the day. C’BO Flemister ran for two touchdowns before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent left leg injury.
Phil Jurkovec, a transfer from Notre Dame playing against his former team for the first time, finished 18-for-40 for 272 yards with a touchdown and interception for Boston College (5-4, 4-4).
Jurkovec said he has been dealing with the after effects of a separated throwing shoulder he suffered against Clemson two weeks ago. His throwing was limited leading into the Syracuse game last week and he acknowledged his arm is still not 100 percent.
“I wanted it badly,” he said. “It was a game we had circled on the schedule. It was very disappointing to lose it.”
The Eagles hung tough in the first half, recovering a pair of Notre Dame fumbles, but they scored only six points off the miscues.
Their defense also had few answers for Book, who took advantage of the Irish’s length at receiver throughout the game to produce five pass plays of 20 or more yards.
The Eagles jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter before the Irish outscored them 28-6 the rest of the first half.
Boston College had a chance to cut into a 24-16 deficit late in the second quarter after Notre Dame’s Kryen Williams fumbled following a hit by BC’S Chibueze Onwuka. The ball was recovered by Isaiah Mcduffie on the Irish 42.
But BC gave it right back three plays later when center Alec Lindstrom snapped the ball before Jurkovec was expecting it.