Don't Book Notre Dame for the College Football Playoff Just Yet
By Jason Lisk
Ian Book is expected to miss Notre Dame’s game against Florida State this weekend, according to Pete Sampson, beat writer for The Athletic. The quarterback suffered a rib injury in the game against Northwestern last weekend. He played through it at the time but it looks like he will be unable to go now.
Book took over as the starter for Brandon Wimbush and has been a big part of Notre Dame’s offensive improvement. He’s averaged almost 9 yards per attempt and has completed over 70% of his passes. The Irish will turn back to Wimbush, who was the starter in the opening week victory against Michigan. Wimbush threw 4 interceptions to only one touchdown pass, though, and it is an offensive downgrade.
That said, Notre Dame is still a significant favorite against Florida State. The Seminoles have a losing record at 4-5 and were destroyed 59-10 by Clemson two weeks ago. If Book is still out next week, though, Notre Dame faces #13 Syracuse in New York City. Notre Dame almost certainly needs to win out against Florida State, Syracuse, and USC to reach the College Football Playoff, so this news makes that run a little more tenuous.