No. 2 Notre Dame held off No. 19 North Carolina on Friday, and Irish quarterback Ian Book was a big reason why. After the game, Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown made the case that Book should be in the running for the Heisman Trophy.
The Notre Dame signal caller finished the game with 279 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 23 of his 33 attempts. He also showed off his wheels with 48 rushing yards against the North Carolina defense.
It was another impressive game from Book, who has been very impressive lately in wins over the likes of Clemson and Boston College. In his postgame press conference, Brown was asked about Book’s performance, and the North Carolina coach stumped for him as a contender for the 2020 Heisman Trophy.
"And let me say at the same time, Ian Book was as good tonight as anybody I've ever seen,” Brown said. “We couldn't tackle him. I mean, we harassed him. We had people around him, there could have been six sacks. We could not get him on the ground. And then he made some unbelievable plays on third down. I don't know if he's in the Heisman race or not, but he should be. His record is 29-3, he's fast, he's quick, he's accurate, he's smart. He's not going to do things to get his team beat. But I was so impressed with him tonight. I was impressed with him as much as any quarterback I've seen."
That is some high praise from Brown, who has coached the likes of Vince Young and Colt McCoy.
In order for Notre Dame to beat teams like Clemson and contend for a College Football Playoff spot this year, Book had to elevate his game, and he’s certainly done that so far. Coming into Saturday’s game, Book had completed 62% of his passes for 1,817 yards, 11 touchdowns, and an interception. He had also rushed the ball for 364 yards and six touchdowns.
Despite solid showings in wins over the Tigers and the Eagles, Book’s Heisman Trophy odds actually got worse when SportsLine updated their numbers earlier in the week. Book’s odds were at +4000 to win the Heisman Trophy, but they have since plummeted to +8000. That makes him a longshot to win the award, even though his team remains undefeated.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly clearly doesn’t believe Book gets the respect he deserves. After the game, Kelly called out a recent Top 10 quarterback list that didn’t include Book.
"Playmaker. Playmakers make plays,” Kelly said. “He was confident in his ability to make a play in that situation and he wouldn't tell you it's something that he expects to do it at any one time. But look, you let guys play. He's a playmaker. He was the quarterback. I read an article in USA Today from some guy that really shouldn't be writing articles about football, he should probably be doing something else, but they listed the top 10 quarterbacks I think in college football, and they didn't even list Ian. He's got a little fuel. He's got a little chip on his shoulder as well. He won the matchup tonight. He's a guy that makes plays and again, made a great play in that situation."
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November 28, 2020 at 10:11AM
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Mack Brown makes case for Ian Book as Heisman Trophy contender - 247Sports
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