Notre Dame's Ian Book Keeps Making Plays
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ian Book is becoming a big-game quarterback in front of the nation.
All eyes were on No. 2 Notre Dame on Friday afternoon as the Irish were on upset watch against No. 19 North Carolina and Book shined bright once again.
The fifth-year senior completed 23-of-33 passes for 279 yards and one score while also adding 48 yards on the ground.
A one play focus allowed Book and the Irish offense to succeed after a blistering scoring start from both teams in the first quarter.
"We knew they had a really good offense and they were going to put points up," stated Book following the 31-17 win. "It felt it was going to be a shootout at the beginning. We came in at halftime and believed in what we were doing.
"Focus one play at a time was the message. Our defense did an unbelievable job in the second half and gave us a lot of opportunities and we were able to capitalize on it."
Book went viral on Social Media in the second half as he flipped a pass to tight end Michael Mayer, under pressure. He later did a similar move to find Ben Skowronek for a completion.
It's a move that Book did in high school and against Stanford in 2018.
"I remember doing it in our sectional championship game when I was a sophomore in high school," stated Book. "I got out of the pocket and I couldn't really turn my shoulders. I knew Mike was going to make a play and I knew Ben could catch one of those little flips.
"I'm just trying to fight to get that first down, fight to get the ball in the playmakers hands and I knew Mike would come down with it. It kind of just happens. Definitely not thinking about doing it."
Head coach Brian Kelly mentioned in his postgame presser USA Today rated the country's top 10 quarterbacks in a recent article.
Book was not one of them and it only motivates the California native.
"He didn't show me," said Book. "I actually talked about it with Coach Rees and just let it fuel the fire. I had a chip on my shoulder in high school in the recruiting process. I got a chip on my shoulder here.
"Look, I don't know who is writing those, so have they played football or not? I'm not sure. It's just part of it. There's a ton of articles out there that say a lot of bad things about Notre Dame.
"It doesn't really matter who is ranking it at the end of the day. I'm having fun out here playing college football. It's a dream come true and I feel fortunate to be here. We're 9-0. I got nothing for whoever wrote that. It's motivating, so I think I'm top 10 and want to be. I want to compete every day to be like that."