Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Florida State

3. Brandon Wimbush rushes for three scores

In what came as somewhat of a surprise to many Notre Dame fans, starting quarterback Ian Book will sit out against Florida State with a rib injury sustained early in last week’s win over Northwestern. In turn, former starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush will be handed the reigns once more.

Given Book’s performance since being handed the starting job in Week 4, it was clear that Wimbush’s only path to the starting job was through injury. While there’s never a good time to lose a quarterback, losing Book at this point in the season is particularly untimely considering the significant disparity between the Seminoles’ pass and run defense.

As of this week, Florida State currently boasts one of the stingiest run defenses in the nation. However, they also deploy a secondary that has been very susceptible to the pass. It’s become common knowledge that Wimbush’s skill set doesn’t mesh particularly well with a defense like this one.

While it’s not quite accurate to say that Wimbush is at his best with his back against the wall, we do know that he is an exceptionally great runner. We haven’t seen that out of him this season, but if there’s a time for him to break out, it’s now. Look for Wimbush to lean on what he does best in what could be the last start of an up and down college career.