Book Gaining Confidence With Each Win
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book had started road games at North Carolina and Wake Forest but Saturday night’s atmosphere at Lane Stadium was a little different.
The 6-foot, 203-pounder didn’t disappoint against Virginia Tech as the junior completed 25-of-35 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“It feels good to get such a big win,” stated Book. “We’re all happy. It’s a huge win for us, and we have to move on to play a good Pitt team. There’s no better feeling.”
The Irish offense got off to a hot start to quiet the Hokie fans by taking a 10-0 lead on the first two drives but were shutout for the rest of the half.
Book and the offense dialed in on the fundamentals in the second half, and it allowed them to outscore Virginia Tech 28-7 in the second half.
“We wanted to focus on the basics and fundamentals we work on Tuesday through Thursday,” explained Book. “I had a shaky first half, and I wanted to forget about it and start over in the second half 0-0. We just wanted to play Notre Dame football.”
The Hokies are known for an aggressive defense and bringing pressure from all over the field, but it also leaves them in a ton of one-on-one situations on the back end. Book hit some big shots, but he wasn’t satisfied following the game.
“We had so many shots tonight I didn’t execute the right way,” said Book. “We had a chance to put a dagger in the defense and the score could have been different than it was.”
The California native might have thrown his first interception of the season, but Book didn’t dwell on it and showed the ability to move forward.
“It was still fun,” Book stated. “I was just bummed, but that’s football. I threw a pick, and I have to forget about it. You talk about it for five minutes and move on. It was still a fun night
“I’m starting to feel more comfortable every time I’m out there. It’s something that goes along with time. I still have a lot of work to do.”
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was also pleased with his quarterback's ability to throw the ball consistently in a hostile environment.
“He hit some big throws," said Kelly. "If you look at some of the throws he hit to extend drives, it was pretty good. He was a little flat with his throws. He missed some of the big ones down the field. He made some of the big throws that kept the chains moving on third down.
“I have no problem with the game he played today.”
Heading into the game, the story was about how the Irish would handle the intense atmosphere at Lane Stadium as the Miami game in 2017 was still lingering. Book and the Irish quieted any doubts about if they could handle that type of environment and enjoyed it on the flight back to South Bend.
“It was loud, but we practiced all week for it,” Book said. “It wasn’t anything we weren’t prepared for. Every week we expect to run up the scoreboard. You never know what the score could have been, but we’re happy with the win.”
Notre Dame will host Pitt this weekend, and the Panthers are coming off a big win against Syracuse on Saturday. Book knows the importance of this game as the Irish will head into the bye week following the Saturday’s game.
“We all think it’s a special year. We have to stay to our game plan and working hard. We have to take it week by week. We’ll celebrate this victory and move on to Pitt.”