Ian Book Delivers Again
Saturday’s 19-14 win over Pitt (3-4) wasn’t always pretty for No. 5 Notre Dame (7-0) but the Irish gutted out the victory behind a gritty performance from junior quarterback Ian Book.
Book had an up and down first half completing 13-of-18 passes for 106 yards and one interception. The second half was a different story as the 6-foot, 203-pounder settled down to complete 13-of-14 passes for 158 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“Pittsburgh has a good defense, and we knew it,” Book said following the win. “We prepared for it all week. Some of the time I was a little antsy, and I have to stay in there a little bit better. That’s what happens sometimes against a good defense. We bounced back in the second half, and we’ll take the win.”
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly also credited his quarterback for rebounding in the second half and playing within himself.
“His pocket awareness was not great in the first half," stated Kelly."Had a nice conversation with him in the second half. He settled down nicely, but I think this is just maturation.
“Seeing things, feeling them and as I mentioned, he had a great second half. I think he had one incompletion, and if we can work on his sliding skills to get the ten full yards, he'd be flawless in the second half.”
With 7:26 to play, Notre Dame trailed 14-12, but Book, who leads the nation (FBS) in completion percentage (75.2%), found senior receiver Miles Boykin for a 35-yard touchdown for the game-winning score to complete a five-play, 80-yard drive.
“We had to stay calm,” explained Book. “A win is a win. These football games happen, and there’s no point in freaking out when you have time on the clock. We’ve been there before. We didn’t want to make it a bigger deal than it was. I’m proud of the guys for remaining calm and being able to go down and win the game.”
It wasn’t a total surprise Book hooked up with Boykin for the score as the two had connected for 19 completions over the previous two games and the trust is only getting stronger.
“Miles works so hard, and our chemistry is starting to come along a little bit,” stated Book. “When it’s a critical down, he’ll make the play for us. He’s one of the playmakers I try to get the ball to.
“Miles made a great move on the post. He’s really rangy. You have to put it up there and give him a chance. That was something I was focusing on all week. I wanted to give our guys a chance and not overthrow it. I wanted to throw it up, and Miles would go get it.”
The Pitt defense made sure Boykin didn’t get involved for most of the game as he had four catches for 84 yards, but it was something the offense prepared for during the week.
“They were clouding the boundary a bit,” Book said. “We knew they would do that to stop Miles. We were prepared for it.”
Book did fight through some adversity as the two interceptions weren’t ideal, but the California native didn’t dwell on them because he knew his team was counting on him.
“You think about it, talk about it with Coach on the phone, and then you can’t do anything about it,” Book explained. “You forget about it and move on. If the offense makes a mistake, I need those guys to forget about it, and the same goes for me. You think about it for a minute and then move on.”
Heading into the week, Book needed to prove he could hit the deep ball and Pitt made him hit the deep ball to win. Book did just that, and it could serve as a significant confidence boost as the Irish head into the stretch run as he admitted he was a little hesitant to throw the deep ball.
“It was a huge play, and it felt good coming out,” said Book of the deep ball to Boykin. “It was a big confidence boost. I think I was still a little bit skittish. I think in the second half, I remained calm and trusted the guys. We have such a great offensive line, and there’s no reason to be skittish.”