Book and Mustipher Still Focused On Process

It wasn’t a surprise Notre Dame had quarterback Ian Book and center Sam Mustipher speak on Sunday after the Irish found out they were in the College Football Playoff for the first time. 

Mustipher is a captain and has had a large part in Notre Dame’s success this season from a leadership standpoint, while Book’s play has spoken for itself along with a gritty performance at USC. 

While excitement might not have been oozing out of either player, both were happy to accomplish another goal.

“It feels great,” Book said. “There was a really good vibe today in here. I think our entire team is extremely excited and ready to head down and go to Dallas.” 

However, if you expected a big celebration, The Gug was the wrong place to look.

“You savor it because this is what you work for and you earn this,” explained Mustipher. “Our initial goal is to win the National Championship, and we haven't done that. So I don't think there should be too much rejoicing right now.” 

There was a hot debate outside of The Gug when it came to Notre Dame. Some felt they were a lock. Some felt they were on the bubble, while others felt other programs were more worthy. The Irish weren’t impacted by the talk, and it could serve as another chip on the shoulder for this team. 

“I don't really care about anybody's opinion outside of this building,” stated Mustipher. “I don't think the rest of this team does either. That's how we've done it all year. We've prepared the exact same way, and we've kept our nose focused on what we needed to be focused on.

“We did what we've had to do when there are opponents in front of us, and I've voiced that to the rest of the team as well. They understand that, and they know what we've done all year.” 

Book echoed his center’s statements, but the California native might have embraced the hate just a little bit more. 

“There's always going to be doubters, and that's something our team doesn't focus on. The people in this building, you know, we play for each other, and there's going to be doubters every day. So you just use it to fuel yourselves.” 

Trusting in the process has led this group to this point and staying the course will not change despite the magnitude of what lies in front of the Irish. 

“We'll just take it one day at a time,” Mustipher said. “We’re going to prepare the same way we have all year, and we might even up it a notch, but we're not going to change anything drastically.” 

While preparation is the focus of the Irish, the health of Book is also at the forefront. Book will have over a month between games, and it will allow his undisclosed injuries to heal. 

Book wasn’t going to say his injuries impacted his play but a healthy quarterback in the biggest game of the year is only going to be positive. 

“I'm feeling great,” Book stated. “Another week of rest definitely helped. Got no problems right now.”