Notre Dame Football: 4 reasons the Irish will beat Stanford in Week 5
By Dana Becker
4. Ian Book holds firm as QB1
It was quite obvious by the way Ian Book last week vs. Wake Forest that Brian Kelly knew exactly what he was doing when he inserted the junior into the starting lineup.
After completing all three of his passes two weeks ago vs. Vanderbilt, and having thrown just 78 career passes to day, Book was the dual-threat needed in college football in 2018.
He completed 25-of-34 for 325 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 43 yards and three scores on 10 carries. Book is 6-foot and just over 200 pounds, but showed incredible toughness for a kid from El Dorado Hills, California by taking hit after hit from the Demon Deacon defense.
Stanford will obviously be a much different beast for Book and the Irish, but if he can come close to completing 70 percent of his throws and avoid turnovers, there is no reason Book shouldn’t have another career-defining moment in South Bend.
Remember, the Cardinal surrendered 346 yards to Justin Herbert of Oregon last week and 215 yards to JT Daniels from USC. On the season, opposing quarterbacks are averaging almost 234 yards per game vs. Stanford, which includes dates with San Diego State and UC-Davis.