Should Notre Dame Start Jurkovec Against Bowling Green?

We might have a quarterback controversy brewing at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame was able to get back on track against Virginia in the second half. If it taught us anything, it would be that the defense is playing at a championship caliber. Some early mistakes let Virginia go into halftime with a three point lead, but this was a tale of two halves.

The Notre Dame defense finished with five turnovers that resulted in 28 points, eight sacks and a defensive touchdown. The defense is growing and they have the ability to be a playoff caliber defense. However, the offense is still struggling  and it’s worth asking — should Phil Jurkovec start over Book against Bowling Green?

Book’s struggles

The phrase that is starting to get tossed around is Book is regressing. Quarterbacks have a habit of taking a step back in year-two under Brian Kelly, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Book followed suit. But if you look at the stats, Book is right where he was last season:

2018 – 68.2% completion  – 2,628 yards – 19 touchdowns – 7 interceptions – 154 QB rating

2019 – 63% completion – 993 yards – 8 touchdowns – 2 interceptions – 151.9 QB rating (4 games)

2018 is the majority of the season and we are only a few games in to 2019, but the numbers are projecting to be slightly better than last year.

2019 Projection- 2,979 yards – 24 touchdowns – 6 interceptions

The projection is based off of the rest of the regular season, which would give him two more games over his 2018 season. While things could change or Book could might make a miraculous turnaround, he has shown us who he is.

Book does some great things like ball security and typically doesn’t put you in really bad spots. But he also struggles with downfield passing and misses wide open guys.

He keeps showing us who he is and we don’t want to believe it. He is a fine game manager, but he isn’t the Heisman candidate or top 10 QB like some have pegged him.

The case to start Phil Jurkovec

Jurkovec has already won over a portion of the fan base. Despite his struggles reading a defense, making smart throws, or consistency, fans have been chanting his name since he arrived. I do not believe that Jurkovec is better than Book yet. He has glimpses to show he can be special, but he is still a long way off from a more finished product.

So this isn’t about starting a “Phil for starting QB” campaign, but as I mentioned earlier, we know what we get from Book.

This also isn’t to bash Book for his performance against Virginia, more-so with the opponent this week. Bowling Green has played three FBS teams to this point in 2019. A familiar face is coaching a train wreck of a defense at Bowling Green, allowing 49.6 points per game.

While Brian Van Gorder is doing what he does best, the offense is also inept, as they average nine points per game. All of this just to show that this will be New Mexico again. They can’t stop anyone and they can’t score.

Some might think back to the Ball State game last season and Notre Dame just escaping with a win. That was also a game I wrote about for a different site talking about Ian Book starting over Brandon Wimbush. That was ridiculed then, because Wimbush was winning and despite the offensive struggles, Wimbush did enough to keep Notre Dame in the win column.

This year is a bit different, as the offense has been able to score. But Brian Kelly has had to call on his backup QB almost every year at some point.

Jurkovec and the future

Jurkovec was a top-100 recruit and is expected to take over when Book leaves. Is he ready to totally take over the Notre Dame offense? Probably not. But the thought of Book starting after the Michigan game was also considered outlandish. If Jurkovec is the future like his recruit ranking and the coaches would suggest, why couldn’t he beat Bowling Green?

Jurkovec getting an entire game against a weak opponent could show his development and ability to stretch the offense. It is also a game he should have no real problems winning with the team around him. I’m not saying Book deserves to lose his spot, as he hasn’t played that poorly. But we also can’t be shocked when we get a similar performance to Clemson or Georgia in a big game.

Book has been given the weapons and he is Jafar Armstrong away from what I thought would be the best offense under Kelly. Like I said, he has told us who he is, it’s time we start believing him.