Notre Dame football: Do Irish QBs show up when the lights are brightest?
By Ryan Shanko
Notre Dame football: Do Irish QBs show up when the lights are brightest?
2012: #5 Notre Dame Vs. #8 Oklahoma
- Final Score: Notre Dame 30, Oklahoma 13
- Quarterback: Everett Golson
- Game Stats: 13/25 (52%), 177 yds; 11 rushes, 64 yds, 1 TD
The Decision: In this Fighting Irish signature win, Everett Golson played a solid game. Looking at the stats that’s all you can say about it. However, I will give Golson points for not turning the ball over in a high-stakes road game, and also for scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. An all-around good game in a classic Notre Dame win.
The Grade: 6.5/10
2018: #12 Notre Dame Vs. #14 Michigan
- Final Score: Notre Dame 24, Michigan 17
- Quarterback: Brandon Wimbush
- Game Stats: 12/22 (55%), 170 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int; 19 rushes, 59 yds
The Decision: Leading up to the 2018 season opener, many people doubted Brandon Wimbush’s ability to lead the Irish to success with his arm, and unfortunately, he mostly proved the critics right in this game.
He did connect with Irish legend Chris Finke on a 43-yard TD to open the game, but even that ball was underthrown, and Finke made an incredible play to come down with the catch. Wimbush did not make another impact play for the remainder of the game. The defense was fortunate to make enough plays down the stretch to win this game.
The Grade: 4.0/10
2018: #8 Notre Dame Vs. #7 Stanford
- Final Score: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 17
- Quarterback: Ian Book
- Game Stats: 24/33 (73%), 278 yds, 4 TDs; 15 rushes, 47 yds
The Decision: Ian Book was phenomenal in this top-10 matchup with incumbent rival Stanford. 4 TD tosses and no turnovers turned into a dominant night for the Fighting Irish. Book was the engine that made the offense go in this game, even opening up the running attack due to making the Cardinal defense adjust to attempt to stop the pass.
One of many great games in the Ian Book era, this one earns him high marks on my rating. This game is not the same without him.
The Grade: 8.5/10
2018: #3 Notre Dame Vs. #12 Syracuse
- Final Score: Notre Dame 36, Syracuse 3
- Quarterback: Ian Book
- Game Stats: 22/37 (62%), 292 yds, 2 TDs, 1 Int; 6 rushes, 16yds
The Decision: Book was masterful yet again as the third-ranked Irish stymied the surprisingly good Syracuse Orange 36-3 in the 2018’s Shamrock Series game. This was a complete domination by the Irish, and Book took advantage of the great day the defense had to put together a similarly complete day for himself.
Book loses slight marks for throwing an unforced Int, and simply because the defense was so good that he didn’t have to do much to take over and win the game for ND.
The Grade: 7.0/10
2020: #4 Notre Dame Vs. #1 Clemson
- Final Score: Notre Dame 47, Clemson 40
- Quarterback: Ian Book
- Game Stats: 22/39 (56%), 310 yds, 1 TD; 14 rushes, 67 yds
The Decision: This is undoubtedly the greatest win the Irish have earned in many years, and Ian Book was a large part of why the Irish prevailed. The biggest play of the game was a 53-yard Book connection with Avery Davis with one minute remaining in regulation that set the Irish up for the tying score, an Ian Book TD pass to Avery Davis.
Book was incredibly clutch but loses slight points due to the dominance of Kyren Williams and great play by the defense for most of the game. He doesn’t lose many points though. Ian Book was the catalyst for the Irish beating the #1 Tigers and led the most clutch drive in recent ND history. What a game.