Notre Dame Football: Wondering Wednesdays (Sept. 9)

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 02: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players celebrate following a game against the Temple Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on September 2, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish won 49-16. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 02: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players celebrate following a game against the Temple Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on September 2, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. The Irish won 49-16. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame refers to ‘hump day’ as “Working Wednesday.” Wednesday marks the part of the week when the upcoming Notre Dame football game appears on the horizon. Here are a few different thoughts that Slap the Sign is wondering about before the Irish battle Georgia.

Notre Dame Favored Over Georgia. Really?

Vegas opened the line for this week’s game at Notre Dame, -6.5. Due to the strong running effort and Jacob Eason’s injury, the betting line for this contest favored the Irish. The spread, at the time this published, moved down to -4.5. Although the line says otherwise, Notre Dame feels like the underdog. The game features a quality SEC opponent with a great pedigree.

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Possible Early NFL Departures

This wondering is complete conjecture. Quenton Nelson almost certainly leaves for the NFL after this season. He possesses one more year of eligibility if he decides to return. A few players make curious cases for early NFL departures.

Equanimeous St. Brown ranks among the Matt Miller’s Top 2018 draft prospects. St. Brown’s draft status depends on the 40-time he runs. He does not necessarily need to run a sub 4.5 40-yard dash but he needs a time close to that.

The Alize Mack hype train slowed during the game against Temple. Mack draws tons of NFL interest due to his size, speed and catching radius.

Josh Adams and/or Dexter Williams may also depart for the NFL. Both players possess NFL talent. Running Backs only take so many hits before their time in football finishes.

When Do We See Ian Book?

No, Ian Book is not competing with Quarterback Brandon Wimbush for the job. Wimbush remains healthy and the best option for the Irish. But, since Brian Kelly arrived in 2010, he played multiple Quarterbacks each season. In 2013, Tommy Rees started all thirteen games for Notre Dame. However, Andrew Hendrix played significant minutes against USC when Rees went down with an injury. In fact, here are the Quarterbacks for each season:

  • 2010: Crist, Montana, Rees
  • 2011: Crist, Rees, Hendrix
  • 2012: Golson, Rees
  • 2013: Rees, Hendrix
  • 2014: Golson, Zaire
  • 2015: Zaire, Kizer, Wimbush
  • 2016: Kizer, Zaire

Due injury or performance, multiple Quarterbacks play significant minutes at some point during the year. When will we see backup Quarterback Ian Book? After a Wimbush injury or in mop up duty? Not seeing two Quarterbacks would break a trend.