{"id":22002,"date":"2019-06-27T13:00:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T17:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosoncfb.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=22002"},"modified":"2019-09-24T16:37:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T20:37:12","slug":"notre-dames-ian-book-looks-to-complete-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2019\/06\/27\/notre-dames-ian-book-looks-to-complete-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Notre Dame’s Ian Book Looks to Complete Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

With all the buzz surrounding Notre Dame’s recruiting success, quarterback\u00a0Ian Book<\/a><\/strong> has sights on completing the legacy he did not last year. The 2018 campaign started off with a marquee win over Michigan and ended in disappointment as the Clemson Tigers\u00a0steamrolled the Irish\u00a030-3 in the 83rd<\/sup> edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now, Brian<\/strong> Kelly\u2019s<\/strong> Notre Dame Fighting Irish have the biggest chip on their shoulders. Irish faithful are hopeful that the 2019 seasons yields some more of the same successes, but a different end result\u00a0as Ian Book looks to complete his legacy at Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

Book’s Legacy<\/h3>\n

For the 2019 season, the Irish will be led by senior quarterback Ian Book.\u00a0Expectations are high after falling short once again on the big stage. Notre Dame is no stranger to stage fright in the limelight despite a 12-0 finish to the 2018 regular season. In fact, Notre Dame has not won a \u201cNew Year\u2019s Six\u201d bowl game since beating Texas A&M back in 1994.<\/p>\n

Most notably, they have lost nine consecutive NY Six bowl games. Many of these losses fell on the Charlie Weiss<\/strong> administration during this time. Brian Kelly has now accounted for the last three on a pattern that continues to spiral in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

Look for Ian Book\u2019s decision making, along with his athletic ability to be the key again for the Irish this year. Over the past several years, Notre Dame has lived and died by the play of the man under center.\u00a0Look for Book\u2019s decision making, along with his athletic ability to be the key again for the Irish this year.<\/p>\n

Quarterback\u00a0Legacy Comparisons<\/h3>\n

Looking back at some of the QB\u2019s who had some success, Book does not draw a direct comparison to any one particular player, but\u00a0some of the best attributes of them all.<\/p>\n

Brady Quinn<\/a> – 2003-2006:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Poised and disciplined,\u00a0but Quinn did not possess the same mobility and escapability<\/em> to be a threat to run, like Book.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Clausen<\/a> \u2013 2007-2009:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Same confidence, swagger, and downfield cannon \u2013 but struggled with accuracy. Ian Book ranked sixth in the nation last season with a completion percentage of 70.4%<\/p>\n

Tommy Rees<\/a> \u2013 2010-2013:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Rees brought grit, willingness to prepare and passion,\u00a0yet was not nearly as naturally talented as Book as a starting quarterback at Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

HONORABLE MENTION<\/h4>\n

Do not forget, Ian Book spent years backing up DeShone Kizer<\/strong><\/a> and Brandon<\/strong> Wimbush<\/strong><\/a>. Wimbush did not shine on the stat sheet, but always found a way to win. Kizer is a “Next Man Up” clutch-play maker as evidenced by his debut against Virginia, where he replaced the injured Malik Zaire<\/strong><\/a> with a 39-yard strike to Will Fuller to seal the victory. That competitiveness is a learned behavior, and Wimbush exemplified what it meant to be a QB at the University of Notre Dame despite lackluster passing statistics and turnover woes.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Ian Book will be the QB to break this losing big game<\/em>\u00a0streak and complete his legacy at Notre Dame. To do so, he\u00a0is faced\u00a0with two daunting tasks ahead.<\/p>\n

NOTRE DAME AT GEORGIA<\/h5>\n

The first is an early season match-up against SEC foe Georgia Bulldogs on September 23, 2019. Last time they faced off it was in South Bend, IN. Notre Dame had plenty of opportunities but just could never cash in falling to the Bulldogs 20-19.<\/p>\n

Now in 2019, they have a shot at them again this time down south in Athens, GA. The trenches are where this game is going to be decided.<\/p>\n

NOTRE DAME AT MICHIGAN<\/h5>\n

The second tall task comes on October 26, 2019, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It would be hard to forget the 24-17 victory, under the lights at Notre Dame to start 1-0 last season. Michigan fans have a notorious \u201cElitist\u201d attitude but have a history of backing it up despite lack of performance under coaching journeyman Jim<\/strong> Harbaugh<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

At this point in the offseason, all you can hope for is health and development of the young players as they are expected to grow into the playmakers to surround Ian Book and propel him to\u00a0cement his legacy as a Notre Dame quarterback.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit:<\/p>\n

\"\"
File Photo: SOUTH BEND, IN – Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Ian Book (12). (Photo by Zach Bolinger\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With all the buzz surrounding Notre Dame’s recruiting success, quarterback\u00a0Ian Book has sights on completing the legacy he did not last year. The 2018 campaign started off with a marquee win over Michigan and ended in disappointment as the Clemson Tigers\u00a0steamrolled the Irish\u00a030-3 in the 83rd edition of the Cotton Bowl Classic. Now, Brian Kelly\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3135,"featured_media":22020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,2,2056],"tags":[4843,729,79,3355,259],"class_list":["post-22002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-independents","category-featured","category-top-25","tag-brady-quinn","tag-brian-kelly","tag-college-football","tag-ian-book","tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"],"modified_by":"Lauren Beasley","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}