Notre Dame Has Its Guy In Ian Book

To have a 12-0 season, a team needs a good quarterback. 

Some quarterbacks can throw for 400 yards and six touchdowns but still lose the game. 

Some quarterbacks can run fast, throw farther, or fit the ball into windows most can only dream of doing. 

Notre Dame has a good quarterback. 

Ian Book might have started the year No. 2 on the Irish depth chart, but he has taken over the reins of the most prestigious position in college sports and done nothing but win games. 

The California native has proven he is one of the most accurate passers in the country but even quarterbacks who complete 72% of their passes have an off night. 

“We won the game,” stated head coach Brian Kelly. “He missed a couple here and there. You can’t turn it over in the red zone - he knows that stuff. He’s human. He’s going to grow from it. 

“I wouldn’t say we would put it up with his top performance, but he went on the road, and he led our team as the quarterback at Notre Dame, and we won the football game.” 

Book didn’t have a bad game as he threw for a career-high 352 yards by completing 22-of-39 passes to go with two touchdowns, but he wasn’t as efficient as usual. 

The 6-foot, 203-pounder completed a season-low 56.4% of his passes and then threw a bad interception as Kelly mentioned, but as his head coach said, Notre Dame won the game. 

The junior signal-caller could have had a sexier stat line, but he made plays to win the game and those will likely get overlooked. 

Facing a 3rd-and-11 late in the second quarter, Book scrambled for a gain of 11 yards. Book lowered his shoulder at the first down marker to pick up the extra inches to get a new set of downs for the Irish.

Remember, this is a kid who missed a game two weeks ago after suffering multiple injuries to his midsection against Northwestern and he’s lowering his shoulder to get a first down. 

Pure guts. 

Five plays later, Book hit Chris Finke for a 24-yard scoring strike to cut the USC lead to 10-7.

“On offense, we wanted to get our playmakers a shot,” stated Book. “I thought our offensive line did a great job tonight. We just did our job.”

With the Irish up 14-10 with less than five minutes to play, Book once against scrambled and once again on 3rd down. 

Book scooted his way around USC cornerback Isaiah Langley for a gain of 16 yards on 3rd-and-12. Three plays later, Book lofted a ball to Tony Jones Jr., and Jones took it 51 yards to the house and put Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff. 

“It feels amazing,” Book said of the win. “I’m proud of everyone. Our hard work has paid off. It’s a night I’ll remember forever.

“It’s something I’ve dreamed about. It’s a surreal moment.” 

Book didn’t turn those two plays into miracle touchdown runs, but he turned them into game-winning plays. If he doesn’t pick up the first down, the Trojans get the ball back. 

Notre Dame has been searching for a quarterback to make big plays but also to make plays to win games and Book is the guy. There was zero panic from Book as the Irish faced a double-digit deficit for the first time in 2018 and it’s clear the offense follows his lead. 

And Book has led the Irish to a new territory, which is the College Football Playoff. 

“To be able to finish the season undefeated in a rivalry game against USC, you can’t ask for anything better,” said Book. “We controlled what we had to control, and now with the rankings, it’s up to them. There’s nothing we can do now. 

“We definitely feel like we belong in there.”