Notre Dame Football: Does Ian Book have a chance at the Heisman?

The quarterback of the Notre Dame football team, Ian Book, was one of the nation’s most accurate passers a year ago. Does he have a shot at the Heisman in 2019?

Notre Dame football fans should feel very grateful for the emergence of Ian Book. When Book arrived in South Bend, few anticipated that he would have the level of effectiveness that he showed in 2018. Many wondered if he’d ever see his shot on the field at Notre Dame.

Now with a year under his belt as Notre Dame’s starter, he’s poised to have an even bigger season, which could land him in pretty good company in New York City by years’ end.

It goes without saying that winning the Heisman means putting up big numbers, which is exactly what last year’s winner, Kyler Murray, did.

Murray played in 14 games, completed 69% of his passes, and threw for a total of 4361 yards and 42 touchdowns. In short, through the air, Murray threw for about 312 yards and 3 touchdowns per game.

In his junior season at Notre Dame in which he threw passes in 10 games, Book completed 68% of his passes for a total of 2628 yards and 19 touchdowns. In short, Book threw for about 263 yards and 2 touchdowns per game. Factor in the fact that Book only threw 3 passes against Vanderbilt and his average goes up to 292 yards and 2 touchdowns per game.

The Notre Dame football team will undoubtedly take a different look in 2019, which is good for Book’s numbers. It would be reasonable to expect the offense to take off this upcoming season, especially given that it would appear to be the team’s strength this season. Assuming the offense takes the next step, Book’s per game average could easily eclipse the 312 per game average that Murray posted in 2018. In fact, it’s not without question that Book could break the single season passing record at Notre Dame. 

Certainly, though, the passing touchdowns and the rushing stats tell a different story. Murray rushed for 1,001 yards in 2018 (a little more than 71 per game) and added 13 scores, while Book only rushed for 280 (28 per game) and 4 scores.

Kyler Murray is an unbelievable talent who ran away with the Heisman trophy. Players like Murray don’t come every day.

It will undoubtedly be an uphill climb for Book to climb to Heisman status, but with a higher-octane offense, it just might be possible.