SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Ian Book was confused in his elation.
As Book greeted Brian Kelly after his 28-yard touchdown pass to Javon McKinley six seconds before halftime, he expressed his surprise to his head coach at a Syracuse defensive call that, in his mind, handed Notre Dame the score and a 24-7 lead the moment the ball was snapped.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ directions on the play were to hand the ball off if Syracuse played zone, or throw a go route to McKinley in a likely one-on-one matchup if the Orange were in man. When they unveiled the latter, Book let the arrow fly. No suspense in his mind.
“McKinley went up, made a great catch,” Kelly recalled. “As Ian came running off the field, he says, ‘I can't believe they pressed him and gave us that touchdown.’”
You can picture a grin on Book’s face as wide as Touchdown Jesus’ arms.
This is the conviction of a quarterback with two unbeaten regular seasons to his name on his way to becoming Notre Dame’s all-time wins leader, with 30, which he did when the Irish (10-0, 9-0 ACC) polished off Syracuse 45-21 to plausibly lock in a College Football Playoff spot. The conviction of a master of coverages. And the bond between a powerful, codependent pairing formed after two paths finally fused in their fifth college seasons.
All told, Book and McKinley linked up seven times for 111 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth time McKinley has cleared triple-digits in 2020. That’s one more 100-yard day than Chase Claypool had in 2019 or Miles Boykin produced in 2018. After beginning the year with two dormant games, McKinley leads Notre Dame with 37 catches and 660 yards.
“If they want to work on a throw, they’re staying after and practicing it,” tight end Tommy Tremble said. “One thing they really wanted to work on was the deep balls. You saw it today.”
McKinley is averaging 17.8 yards per reception and has 12 catches of at least 20 yards. Entering the season, he had 11 catches for his entire career. All that was missing from his late-career breakout was finding the end zone. He had zero touchdowns on his first 34 grabs. Each of his last three has gone for a score, all from at least 20 yards out.
“We’re at that stage now where Ian doesn't believe, if you press McKinley, that anybody can defend him and that he's going to put the ball where it needs to be,” Kelly said. “That kind of recognition, belief and trust is where this offense has grown throughout this season, where that didn't exist for, what, four years? It now exists, and that's why this offense is so much better than it was earlier in the year.”
Notre Dame’s offense doesn’t get to that point, though, without Book reaching back for another gear. Until sometime in October, or perhaps Nov. 7, Book’s march toward the record he felled Saturday was met with screams for more by Irish fans who didn’t want to hear Kelly hush the noise by labeling him a winner after bumpy games. Now, it’s hard to think of a more fitting descriptor after his roles in stirring victories.
Notre Dame notched its second undefeated regular season in three years, toppling Syracuse 45-21 to go to 10-0. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game.
• Fifth-year senior Ian Book became the all-time winningest quarterback in Notre Dame history, notching his 30th victory. He’s 30-3 as a starter. And just as he had in recent weeks, he’s as big a reason as any the Irish prevailed. He woke them up from their slumber, shed his own early rust and led three touchdown drives in the final 5:36 of the first half. On those three possessions, he was 8 of 10 as a passer.
• Book also led Notre Dame on a scoring drive right after a 40-yard Sean Tucker touchdown pulled Syracuse within 24-14 in the third quarter. He picked himself up after committing consecutive turnovers and executed a 53-yard touchdown march where he scrambled for 18 yards on fourth-and-five and then 28 yards for a touchdown. He finished the game 24-of-37 passing for 285 yards with five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).
• Have to imagine this game was the first in Notre Dame Stadium history where the band was a recording of the band, and not the actual one.
• Also have to imagine Notre Dame is in the College Football Playoff unless it is swept off the field in the ACC Championship Game.
• For a quarter, when Notre Dame appeared to be sleeping through its alarm, you couldn’t help but think about the “eye test” conversations that were inevitably going to come up in the next unveiling of the CFP top 25 rankings.
• Syracuse entered the game having forced 22 turnovers, tied for the most nationally. On that theme, Notre Dame gave the ball away twice. It’s hard to give the defense much credit for a bad snap exchange that resulted in the first one, but the play that led to Book’s third-quarter interception was a great call to cause confusion.
Syracuse showed an all-out blitz, but dropped nearly everyone and safety Ja’Had Carter sprinted backward to create double coverage Book didn’t expect and pick off a throw intended for senior slot receiver Avery Davis.
• Book’s school-record streak of consecutive passes without an interception ended at 266.
At some point Notre Dame was going to break open this home finale. The talent differential between the Irish and the Orange was too vast to remain close for long, particularly given Syracuse’s roster management issues.
But that exact point came on a 3rd-and-10 late in the second quarter when Book threw wide of sophomore running back Kyren Williams. What appeared to be yet another stalled drive, the root of Notre Dame’s problem as it trailed 7-3, and a chance for Syracuse to then build its lead before receiving the second-half kickoff, changed when a flag flew. Orange defensive end Kingsley Jonathan had roughed Book, granting the Irish a first down.
It took three quick chunk gains of 18 yards (pass to Tommy Tremble), 11 yards (pass to McKinley) and 28 yards (Book’s scamper) for Notre Dame to take a lead it would not relinquish.
Rather than Syracuse ball with the lead and five minutes before halftime, the Irish tacked on two more touchdowns before the break to kickstart the trouncing. The last of those may have been the most surprising, a downfield shot to McKinley with only six seconds remaining in the quarter that illustrated just how much his body control has developed this season, as has Book’s understanding of it. Describing McKinley’s catch as Claypool-esque would be generous but not altogether inaccurate.
“My first thought is just that it is kind of unfortunate that the guys can’t be out there with their family before the game on Senior Day and soak in that moment. On the flip side of that, your seniors showed up today. The studs, the captains of the team, played really well today. Book was tremendous, Javon McKinley, Daelin Hayes, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, all played well. It was a fitting end for these guys. Outside of that, it was a slow start and sometimes that happens on senior days. I was guilty of that on my senior day inside of Notre Dame Stadium. You get into your feelings, and I think you can get too overwhelmed with thinking about what you have been through and maybe forget about the task at hand. It was a convincing enough win for me though. I know a lot of people made money from the fact that Syracuse covered, but it was a solid game all around, good to see the seniors get a nice win on senior day in their last time playing in Notre Dame Stadium.”
The numbers are good -- 63% completions, 23 touchdowns -- but they hardly tell the full story. Book's ability to move the pocket, extend plays and keep defenses on their heels has been the key to Notre Dame's offensive success this year. Every game, he does a couple of dozen little things that won't show up in a box score that have made him special and made the Irish a playoff contender.
Ian Book put an exclamation point on his final home game at Notre Dame, becoming the winningest quarterback in school history in a 45-21 victory over Syracuse. Book was responsible for a season-high five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing), and the Irish have scored 45 or more points in five games this season, tied for most in a season in school history. It appears the Irish are in great position to make the College Football Playoff -- no matter what happens in the ACC championship game.
Up next: Clemson, ACC championship game, (4 p.m. ET, Dec. 19, ABC)
