Notre Dame football: Rose Bowl offensive grades vs. Alabama

Notre Dame football Rose Bowl grades: Quarterback

It felt like Ian Book killed any chance for a rally when he threw a third-quarter interception. The veteran quarterback seemed to be pressing all game long, and whether he was excited or nervous, or a bit of both, Book was too tightly wound and it hurt his accuracy, especially early in the game.

The moment was just too big for Book, and it always has been too big, unfortunately.

Book actually ran an effective two-minute drill to end the first half, and throughout much of the fourth quarter. He found receivers quickly from these sets and was more accurate, as it was like when Book could just go out and throw the ball around, he thrived, but when he was trying to fit into the gameplan, he started pressing.

Book’s legs were working well, particularly on several designed runs also, and he created in a collapsing pocket a couple of times. Unfortunately, he sometimes let his feet go out from underneath him and threw off his back foot, which didn’t help his accuracy issues at all.

Ian Book’s final stat line from his final game at Notre Dame was 27-of-39 for 229 yards passing, no touchdowns, and one interception. On the ground, he ran 15 times for 55 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn’t to his potential, disappointingly.

Grade: C+