Notre Dame Football: Ian Book looks to rebound vs. New Mexico

After a fairly disappointing effort vs. Louisville, quarterback Ian Book and his Notre Dame football squad look to make a statement vs. New Mexico.

While the Irish covered the spread by putting up 35 points against Louisville, many walked away from this game knowing Book could’ve done a whole lot more. After all, those 35 points came without Book even reaching 200 passing yards. This was a testament to the run game and overall efficiency of the offense, but leaves significant room for improvement concerning Book’s performance.

If there was ever a week to get things right, it’s this one. Coming off a Week 2 bye, the Irish will have only faced Louisville and New Mexico prior to their matchup with No. 3 Georgia. Therefore, it is imperative that the Irish use this weekend to smooth everything over before the season really kicks into gear in the coming weeks.

Before they get to that, the Irish will have to make it a point not to get ahead of themselves in what some would consider a trap game against the Lobos. A trap game may be a stretch as the Irish are already on edge after Book’s Week 1 performance, but the point remains the same. Notre Dame has to take care of this game as early as possible.

Here’s how you can watch them try this weekend.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

This should be a relatively straightforward matchup for the Irish, one in which running effectively and making some plays on defense should be enough to get them a comfortable win. However, comfortable isn’t what the Irish will be going for, at least not this week.

What the Irish would be more interested in seeing is a complete takeover by Ian Book, something along the lines of a 450 yard performance. That may seem like a lot (and it is), but the combination of Ty Brock and Eric Schmid threw for 443 yards in Sam Houston State’s loss to the Lobos. Needless to say, similar numbers are within grasp for Book if he’s on his game.

Betting Odds

Odds provided by Bovada

Point Spread: Notre Dame -35
Over/Under: 64

Prediction

Notre Dame’s first two games have come against teams that failed to win two games in their respective conferences last season, with New Mexico going 1-7 in Mountain West play. This is a team that struggles within its own conference, so there’s really no reason why the Irish couldn’t hang 50 points on this team if they played within themselves.

Final Score: New Mexico 10, Notre Dame 48