Book: "We’re in a really good spot"
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book made his return to the field on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The 6-foot-1, 203-pounder completed 23-of-37 passes for 292 yards (253 coming in the first half), two touchdowns and one interception as he led the No. 3 Irish to a 36-3 win over No. 12 Syracuse.
The win moves Notre Dame to 11-0 with a road trip to Southern Cal on the horizon for a chance at a perfect season.
“We’re all excited to go to Cali and play in some good weather, said the California native. “It’s far from my home, but I have a lot of family there.”
Book was wasting little time celebrating the win over the Orange as he knows a 12-0 record at Notre Dame will write history.
“We have to get in the film room starting tomorrow,” explained Book. “We have to stick to the process we’ve had since we started. We all trust the coaches to get us ready for this game.
“The energy is going to come with it because of the situation we’re in. It’s going to be awesome.”
The process for Book might be a little different than most on the Irish roster as he started the season as QB2, but life comes at you fast at Notre Dame as he found out.
“Everything has been really fast,” stated Book. “I feel blessed to be in this situation, and I think our team does. You snap your fingers, and we have one more game in the regular season. It’s good to sit back every once in a while and think about how the season has gone.
“We’re so fortunate. We’re in a really good spot.”
With each win, the pressure gets bigger and bigger, but Book hasn’t let it get to him, and it’s probably because of where he started on the depth chart open the season.
“I tried to prepare like I was the starter even though I wasn’t,” Book said. “I love football and being able to play football. It’s something I wanted to do since I was younger.”
The 11-0 record isn’t a surprise to Book or the Irish. They started work immediately following the Citrus Bowl win over LSU it’s paid off.
“The day after the Citrus Bowl, we have been preparing for this,” stated Book. “To see it start to unfold is special. I’m just proud of everyone on this team, and everyone is extremely excited to be in the situation we are in.”