Notre Dame, Ian Book Await Another Grand Stage
The first time Notre Dame senior quarterback Ian Book saw action in a college football game was against the University of Georgia.
Redshirted as a freshman during the 4-8 debacle in 2016, Book surprisingly did not play a snap in the 2017 opening game 49-16 romp versus Temple while behind first-time starter Brandon Wimbush.
The following week, though, against No. 15 Georgia, Wimbush was temporarily shaken up in the first half and with the score tied at 3-3 and the Fighting Irish facing third-and-eight, Book was inserted. With Notre Dame backed up in its own territory, the Irish staff kept it safe with a quarterback draw that picked up two yards.
“That was my first play of college football,” Book recalled earlier this week. “I’ll never forget that was against Georgia.”
It was his last play of that game too as Wimbush was reinserted thereafter in the 20-19 Notre Dame defeat that helped propel the Bulldogs into the College Football Playoff, where it lost in overtime to Alabama in the championship game.
Two years later, Book has 12 career starts under his belt as Notre Dame and Georgia prepare for another mini-College Football Playoff showdown in which the winner will be putting itself in prime position to be one of the final four teams selected, just as the Bulldogs were in 2017 and Notre Dame last year.
Since that forgotten lone snap against Georgia, Book has made a remarkable ascent while achieving an 11-1 record as a starting quarterback. He has been the most efficient passer in the 10-year Brian Kelly era, and so far this year he surprisingly also is the team’s leading rusher with 23 carries for 127 yards, practically identical to senior running back Tony Jones Jr.’s 21 carries for also 127 yards.
To Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, Book’s scrambling ability could be a crucial factor.
“They have the quarterback that can make you right every play,” Smart said. “The coach could call a bad call, the kid will bail him out and go scramble for it. It’s nice when you’ve got a guy that can make somebody miss, whether it’s a pressure, whether it’s a three-man rush, whether it’s a four-man rush. He can make you right.”
For his part, Book is comfortable should a team drop eight men into coverage.
“A great way to beat it is with your legs,” Book said. “When I recognize it, we have plays that are good for it. I know what reads to go through and also know that I can run. I’ve been able to see a lot more.”
Third-year offensive coordinator Chip Long has placed a premium on two items for the trip to Athens. One is protecting the football — and the Irish rank No. 1 nationally with a plus-three turnover rate per game, committing only one to their opponents’ seven.
Two is being the more physical team, although in that area Notre Dame has struggled the first two games while ranking 121st among 130 teams in third-down conversions (6 of 22 for a .273 percentage).
“We’re seekers of contact, and that goes for me too — in some cases,” Book said, noting that he is required to slide in the open field.
Book’s passing will be even more vital against a program that traditionally has been noted for superb team speed, but one that Kelly says now is also bigger and deeper than it was two years ago.
“A lot of speed out on the field — it makes the windows smaller, challenges myself to give our guys a shot,” Book said. "The speed might be a little different, and they’ve got a really good scheme as well.”
Book does have a win over an SEC foe under his belt, the 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory versus No. 17 LSU on Jan. 1, 2018 in which he rallied the Irish off the bench with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. With a school record 93,000-plus expected in Sanford Stadium, it also will have the playoff atmosphere experienced last year against eventual national champion Clemson in the Cotton Bowl, a 30-3 Irish defeat.
It has been classified as one of the biggest games ever in the state, and the first time Georgia is hosting a non-conference matchup with both teams in the top 10 since Nov. 26, 1966, when the No. 7 Bulldogs defeated No. 5 state rival Georgia Tech, 23-14.
“A lot of guys on this team know what it’s like to travel to a pretty hostile environment,” Book said. “You’ve really got to embrace it and have fun with it. These are the reasons you come to Notre Dame, to play in these games … Now we’ve got to go there and we’ve got to win.”
Ah yes, win. The Irish are 0-10 versus top-five ranked foes since defeating No. 3 Michigan on Sept. 10, 2005, and oddsmakers believe it should be more of the same while installing Notre Dame as a two-touchdown underdog.
“I don’t think anyone’s too worried about what anyone is saying outside this building,” Book said. “It’s about what we do, it’s about our preparation, it about our process. Honestly, we don’t care at all what anyone says.
“We’re supposed to lose by double digits, it’s kind of a chip on our shoulders. We’re going to use that as motivation. I think it’s great. The pressure is not on us. We’re going down there to do what we’ve got to do
“We believe in ourselves, everyone in this building, this one family, we know what we can do, and we know our potential … we’re just confident.”
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