“I'll never forget this night" - Notre Dame QB Ian Book

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book got his first start last weekend against Wake Forest and finished with five touchdowns, but there were questions about how he would handle a better team despite his big numbers.

Enter No. 7 Stanford. 

Book started hot and didn’t look back on Saturday night as No. 8 Notre Dame rolled over the Cardinal 38-17.

The California native finished 24-of-33, 278 yards and four touchdown passes but he didn’t press. Book took what the defense gave him whether it was through the air or on the ground as he finished with 47 yards rushing. 

“When they drop eight like that, we always talk about it, as the quarterback, you gotta be able to go outside or use your feet,” explained Book. “It's something we worked on all week, and it's something I try to take pride in and if they're going to drop eight, pick up some yards and move on to the next down.” 

Against Wake Forest, Book featured the tight end, but on Saturday, it was senior receiver Miles Boykin that the junior quarterback found ofter. Boykin finished the night with 11 catches for 144 yards and one touchdown. 

“It was just the read,” Book said of finding Boykin. “But our chemistry is coming along. and he's such a good player, and I love throwing to him.”

The touchdowns came from all over the field and were almost surgical, and Book wasn’t afraid to admit it felt good. 

“It was an awesome feeling,” said Book. “I'll never forget this night. Our defense played so well and gave us so many opportunities, and the ten other guys on offense made this possible.

“It’s a night I'll never forget, and I know it's a night our team will never forget. We needed to beat Stanford. It's been a while.”

Senior running back Dexter Williams also made his return to the field on Saturday, and it was just the ‘juice’ Notre Dame needed with Jafar Armstrong out for the game.

“He was very juiced up,” stated Book. “Dexter's such an explosive guy who brings a lot of emotion to the game, and he loves football. I just knew coming back, this couldn't be a better week for him to come back and I'm just excited for him. That first touch was just great to see him go score.”

Book has led the Irish offense to 94 points in the last two games, and he’s not satisfied. The work won’t get easier as the Irish travel to Blacksburg (Va.) next weekend, but Book knows what it will take to get his offense to the next level. 

“ We just want to be an elite offense,” said Book. “I know that one thing we were talking about through the first couple of games was having such a great first half and then kind of letting go the second half. So week in, week out, in our preparation we just want to keep scoring points as an offense, don't let go.

There’s going to be ups and downs, we know that, but we want to be able to focus on that one play. That's all we talk about. Don't think about the play that just happened or the next play. Just focus on that play, and the rest will take care of itself.”