Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 12, 2018 7 UNDER THE DOME MENTAL TOUGHNESS, TOO Also significant to Book has been the abil- ity to deal with setbacks. Following a cru- cial third-quarter interception versus LSU last January, Book completed eight of his last 10 throws for 112 yards with two scores. After a third-quarter interception this year while trailing Pitt 14-6 (same score as LSU last January), Book completed his final 10 tosses, highlighted by perfect 16- and 35-yard scoring strikes to Chase Claypool and Boykin in the 19-14 win. It's not uncommon for him to connect with six to 10 different receivers by half- time in a game. "I'm just trying to master the offense and know where your first, second and third choices are and not locking in on one guy — because all the guys in our offense can make plays," Book said of spreading the wealth. "I just want to get it to the guy who's open and go from there." While short passes are a primary reason for his high per- centage, and long passes are a work in progress (1 of 9 ver- sus Virginia Tech on passes thrown 20 or more yards), if it were so simple, everyone would be completing 70 percent. "His ability to understand the nuances of the offense — you then gain an advantage tactically — allows for a high completion percentage," Kelly explained. "He knows where the leverage points are within the offense that give you an advantage against the defense. "He's a really smart quarterback who understands where he has an advantage against the defense, and he takes ad- vantage of it. It's not like, 'I'm going to Miles [Boykin], I'm going to [Chris] Finke.' He goes to the receiver that has a leverage position against the defense in the structure. "Because he's accurate as a thrower, he then gives it to the receiver that has the best chance of being successful. That's why it goes to nine different guys. You add accu- racy of throwing, an understanding of the offense, and that's why you have the high percentage." And why the staff played the percentages with Book this year. ✦ bit.ly/ndknitwear SHOP NOW FOR KNIT WEAR 'TIS THE SEASON (800) 647-4641 NDcatalog.com Rk. Name (Year) Completion Pct. 1. Jimmy Clausen (2009) 68.0 2. Tommy Rees (2013) 65.5 3. Brady Quinn (2005) 64.9 4. DeShone Kizer (2015) 62.9 5. Brady Quinn (2006) 61.9 Rk. Name (Year) Completion Pct. 6. Tommy Rees (2010) 61.0 7. Jimmy Clausen (2008) 60.9 8. Kevin McDougal (1993) 60.3 9. Ron Powlus (1997) 60.1 10. Everett Golson (2014) 60.0 NOTRE DAME QB'S BEST PASS COMPLETION PERCENTAGE SEASONS Junior quarterback Ian Book has a chance to become the first Notre Dame quarterback to complete at least 70 percent of his passes during a season. When including bowl games, only 10 have even reached the 60 percent landmark — with almost all occurring in the last 10-15 years. In five of these 10 seasons, Notre Dame had a minimum of five losses. The best season came in 1993 (11-1) with Kevin McDougal, who attempted only 174 passes. Note: Bowl games were not included until 2002. In 1984, Steve Beuerlein completed 60.3 percent of his passes — the first Irish quarterback to "officially" finish a regular season with at least a 60-percent rate. However, in the Aloha Bowl loss to SMU he completed just 11 of 23 throws, which dropped his final completion rate to 59.2 percent.