Notre Dame Football: Irish can’t afford to overlook Ball State

1. Brandon Wimbush still hasn’t clicked

Notre Dame benched Brandon Wimbush midway through the Citrus Bowl in favor of backup Ian Book — they won. Despite the clear lack of confidence in his quarterback as recently as eight months ago, head coach Brian Kelly returned to the well in 2018 when he named Wimbush his starter. It’s fair for everyone to assume that title comes with an asterisk.

Wimbush completed 54.5 percent of his passes against Michigan for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was thoroughly unimpressive and led the offense through dry spells that can only have fueld the fire of Notre Dame’s quarterback controversy.

Ian Book never attempted a pass against Michigan, but a cursory level of film work shows he’s vastly superior to his counterpart through the air. An errant Wimbush, and a fresh-to-action Book could present a two-quarterback reality for Kelly this season. That could rear its head as early as Saturday. And if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any.