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Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will be in 2019 College Football Playoff

By Quinn Douglas

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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4. Quarterback change

Before the season, it appeared there was a quarterback controversy well under way in South Bend. In Notre Dame’s Citrus Bowl win over LSU, starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush was benched in the second quarter in favor of backup quarterback Ian Book. Book then proceeded to lead the Irish to a huge win, pulling out a 21-17 come-from-behind victory against a very good LSU team.

Before the season-opener against Michigan, Brian Kelly named Wimbush the starter. While Notre Dame did win their first three games, the offense only averaging 23.3 points per contest. Prior to the week four contest against Wake Forest, Brian Kelly made the switch at quarterback with Ian Book. Since that switch, Notre Dame has averaged 39.5 points per game. The switch to Book has turned the Irish from a good team to a great team.

Looking at Book from a statistical standpoint, he has 11 touchdowns to just three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 167.9, which would be the eleventh highest in college football if he had enough games played to qualify. Book has completed 103-of-137 passes, which equals out to be an eye-popping 75.2 percent completion rate, which would be the best in the nation if he qualified. Book has transcended a Notre Dame offense that hasn’t seen this much productivity in a long time.

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