Notre Dame Football: Top Storylines vs. New Mexico

Ian Book’s Improvement

If you were patrolling Twitter during the Louisville game, you would think Ian Book had the talent of a random guy that Brian Kelly pulled from the streets an hour before kickoff. Book did not look great by any means — inaccurate, happy feet in the pocket, scrambling early — all aspects of his game that was assumed to be improved heading into year two as the man behind center. But let’s pump the breaks.

This is sports, where people love to overreact. It wasn’t a great 2019 debut for Book, who went 14-23 for 193 yards and 1 touchdown, but to call for Jurkovec after only four quarters of play (as many did) is just silly.

With that being said, Ian Book does need to improve if the Notre Dame offense wants to succeed this year. It starts and ends with Book’s arm, legs, and play-making ability.

One of the storylines for the Louisville game was seeing if Book was going to live up to the preseason hype surrounding him. He was listed as one of college football’s Top-50 players and was talked about as a dark horse Heisman candidate.

His play in week one doesn’t define his season by any means. It does, however, leave a lot to be desired and raises concerns about the Irish having the high-powered offense necessary to score points and win big games — especially vs. the elite teams in the College Football Playoff conversation.

Plain and simple, Ian Book has to be better, regardless if he’s playing New Mexico or Clemson. Another game showing the same struggles will only further raise eyebrows and doubts — the same way Brandon Wimbush’s play did at this point of the season last year.

Going into this game vs. a New Mexico teamwho went 3-9 in 2018 — and coming off a bye week —  we should see a much sharper, more accurate Book leading the offense. This should be a confidence builder for himself and the passing game before the Irish take on Georgia next week.