Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions for December 2020

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Nov 7, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book (12) runs the ball in the second overtime period as Clemson Tigers safety Tyler Venables (12) pursues at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Clemson 47-40 in two overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Ian Book out-duels Trevor Lawrence in rematch

Everyone decided to put an asterisk next to Notre Dame’s win over Clemson earlier this season in South Bend. Is that fair? Probably not, but the Tigers are a much better team when Trevor Lawrence is under center. That’s not a knock on DJ Uiagalelei, but rather praise for Lawrence and his leadership skills. Uiagalelei will get there eventually — probably next year.

But beating a Lawrence-less Clemson team puts doubt in the minds of college football fans, fair or not. If Notre Dame beat a Clemson team at full-strength, that’d be a different story.

You can bet Ian Book is sick of that narrative.

The senior quarterback has been playing some of his best football as a starter for the Irish and he’s a legitimate Heisman candidate. He has been on a tear and he’s going into the ACC title game with all the momentum in the world while Lawrence might be a little rusty after missing a few weeks.

Notre Dame’s QB1 will out-duel Lawrence in the ACC title game, turning the heads of NFL scouts who doubted him at the beginning of the year. It’ll be in a losing effort, however.

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