Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons why Irish will beat Virginia Tech
By Jacob Wilson
2. Road games don’t seem to scare Ian Book
Unlike Willis, quarterback Ian Book’s transition from backup to starter has been on a more voluntary basis on the part of the coaching staff. With Brandon Wimbush’s passing game virtually nonexistent, there has always been talk of making the switch to Book. However, it was Wimbush’s 2.8 YPC throughout his first few starts that helped make the decision an easy one for Kelly.
Book is currently 3-0 as a starter, with two of those three games being played on the road. In his first ever start, Book served as more of a game manager in Wimbush’s absence, completing only 17 of 31 passes for 146 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. While not an impressive outing, Book never appeared to be shaken over the course of a game that ended in a 33-10 win.
Book’s second career start would serve as his 2018 starting debut, a matchup with Wake Forest that resulted in an eventual 56-27 Notre Dame victory. Book was nearly perfect in this game, completing 73.5 percent of his passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns while adding another three scores on the ground.
One of Book’s career-defining moments came in Notre Dame’s 2018 Citrus Bowl win over LSU, highlighted by a game-winning drive courtesy of a 55-yard touchdown pass from Book to Boykin. While road games are far from preferable, they haven’t yet done enough to slow down a Book-led offense.