Notre Dame Football: Predicting Ian Book’s stats for 2019

Ian Book took over the starting job with Notre Dame football last season. What should we expect from him statistically in 2019?

Last season was great for Notre Dame football. A lot of their success can be attributed to when they named Ian Book the starting quarterback through the season. He had many great performances for the Fighting Irish in 2019, but the offense also relied heavily on skill players around him.

Without Miles Boykin and Dexter Williams at receiver and running back, more of the weight of this offense will be on Book’s shoulders. What should we expect from a numbers perspective?

Passing statistics

2018 stats: 10 games, 214/314 passes (68.2 percent completion rate), 2628 yards, 19 touchdowns, 7 interceptions
Projected 2019 stats: 13 games, 270/420 passes (64.2 percent completion rate), 3100 yards, 28 touchdowns, 10 interceptions

Nominal numbers will easily be higher with more games under Book’s belt. Assuming he stays healthy, Book will play in all 13 games this season (assuming Notre Dame makes a bowl game). Although some games will be too far of a blowout for Book to play long, I still see him having over 400 pass attempts this year. Notre Dame won’t have the same power at running back this year. When in doubt, trust the senior quarterback to win the game.

Without Boykin to make the big plays, I believe Book’s averages go down. Also, he has a lot of film that coaches can use to prepare to stop him. That’s why I see him having more interceptions. He could have a few just against Georgia.

Rushing statistics

2018 stats: 10 games, 95 rushes, 280 yards, 4 touchdowns
Projected 2019 stats: 13 games, 130 rushes, 400 yards, 6 touchdowns

College rushing statistics are always skewed for quarterbacks because of sacks. However, I expect 2019 to be similar to 2018 for Book. He isn’t known for being a great scrambler, but he can get the occasional rush for some good yardage. Without Dexter Williams, Book might get more chances to score in the red zone, whether it is from a scramble or a designated QB rush.

Needless to say, this year will be interesting for Book. With him being the focal point of the offense, his stats will likely rise. However, I’m not sure if they will rise enough to put him in the conversation for any major awards at the end of the year.