Notre Dame football got a strong performance from Ian Book under center in the Citrus Bowl vs. LSU. Did he prove himself as the starter for 2018?
No, the 2017 regular season didn’t end the way Notre Dame had hoped. The Fighting Irish lost two of their final three games to fall out of New Year’s Six contention and earned a trip to the Citrus Bowl to kick off the 2018 calendar year.
There were plenty of question marks heading into the game against the LSU Tigers and the biggest was arguably at the quarterback position.
Brandon Wimbush had gone from potential Heisman Trophy candidate and dual-threat early in the season to someone who defenses didn’t have to defend the pass against. The same could have been said against LSU as he completed just 3-of-8 passes for 52 yards and he ran for another 38.
Sophomore quarterback Ian Book entered the game and gave the Irish offense a bit of a spark, likely earning himself the starting job heading into 2018, barring some type of drastic improvement from Wimbush.
Book finished the game 14-of-19 for 164 yards, two touchdowns and a pick, leading the Irish to a New Year’s Day bowl win over the SEC’s Tigers of LSU.
Brian Kelly had to look at this as a job interview, of sorts, and Book passed with flying colors while Wimbush is a work in progress. If the Notre Dame offense wants to be able to pass the ball adequately next season, it will have to look at Book as the leader. If it’s looking for a run-first player, Wimbush is the guy.
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I don’t think there’s any doubt that Kelly and the coaching staff will take its chances with Book under center to start the 2018 campaign.
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