Blue and Gold Illustrated

Dec 5, 2020

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1313320

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 3 of 55

4 DEC. 5, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED G iven that résumés can never be accurately compared be- tween players of different eras, anointing one Notre Dame quarter- back as the best in program history is always foolhardy, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to try once in a while. Quarterbacks are typically mea- sured by some combination of wins, championships and/or raw statistics, so let's go down the list of top Irish candidates. Trophies And Titles Iconic Irish quarterback Johnny Lujack (1942-43, 46-47) claimed three national championships. He also won the Heisman in 1947 and en- joyed two unanimous All-America selections. Lujack was 20-1-1 (.932) as a starter, the best winning percentage of any Notre Dame quarterback. Stat-Sheet Stuffer Brady Quinn (2003-06) is the only choice as Notre Dame's best ever based on raw numbers. Never say never, but many of the 30-plus indi- vidual Irish passing records held by Quinn will never be broken, most no- tably, his career marks of 95 touch- down passes and 11,762 passing yards. Some Others • Joe Theismann (1968-70) went 20-3-2 as a starter and ranks inside the top 10 in several passing catego- ries — his single-game Irish record of 526 passing yards against USC in 1970 still stands — but the eventual NFL MVP never secured a title or a Heisman Trophy while in college. • Tom Clements (1972-74) won 29 of 34 starts and led the Irish to the 1973 national championship. He finished fourth in the 1974 Heisman vote. • Joe Montana (1975, 77-78) didn't necessarily pile up superior num- bers, but his clutch play, comeback wins and a legendary 1977 title run deserve mention — and I know bet- ter than to leave Joe Montana off of any "Best List" of Irish quarterbacks! • Tony Rice (1987-89), a title win- ner in 1988, isn't remembered as a gifted passer, but his 1,921 career rushing yards and 23 rushing touch- downs easily remain the most among Irish quarterbacks all time. Each of these Irish legends had their own niche, style and way of doing things. But few of these greats, if any, can check each of the perfor- mance boxes the way 2020 starter Ian Book already has and still can. A Proven Winner Book entered the game against North Carolina Nov. 27 expected to win his 15th straight start and the 29th game of his career, which would tie him with Clements, Quinn and Ron Powlus (1994-97) for the most all-time victories by an Irish starting quarterback. Either this weekend or next, Book will reach 30 career victories and be- come the program's all-time leader in wins as a starter. Additionally, with a career record of 28-3 after the Boston College game, Book's .903 winning percentage tied Rice (also 28-3) as the all-time win- ningest among Irish quarterbacks — based on percentage — with at least 30 starts. Pick Your Poison Through the air, Book already ranks second all time in career touch- down passes — 68 post Boston Col- lege — and he'll soon pass Jimmy Clausen (2007-09) for second place in career passing yardage behind only Quinn. Book also remains on pace to leave Notre Dame with the best career completion percentage and the lowest interception rate. On the ground, Book is one of only five Irish quarterbacks to gain at least 1,000 rushing yards (not includ- ing the late Paul Hornung, a Heis- man Trophy winner, who played fullback as a 1954 sophomore). This season Book leapfrogged Clements and Brandon Wimbush (2015-18) to become second all time in career rushing yards by an Irish quarter- back behind only Rice (1,921 yards). Book is also expected this sea- son to surpass the 18 career rushing touchdowns posted by DeShone Kizer (2015-16), which would leave Book second only to Rice again in career rushing touchdowns (23). Collecting statistics was never a problem for Book. His albatross was an inability to beat the elite, a burden that Book at least temporarily shook off Nov. 7 with an epic fourth-quarter game-ty- ing drive and eventually a 47-40 dou- ble-overtime win over No. 1 Clemson. The win made Book the first Irish quarterback in 27 years to beat a top- rated team since senior Kevin Mc- Dougal (1990-93) defeated No. 1 Flor- ida State 31-24 in November 1993. "When your quarterback is playing at a high level, it gives you a great chance to be a championship-level caliber football team," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of Book after the Clemson win. But with or without a champion- ship trophy this season, Book's com- bination of durability, longevity, pro- ductivity, versatility, leadership and winning acumen all make him the most complete candidate for a spot on Notre Dame's Mount Rushmore of great quarterbacks. As for the three others to put alongside him, well, we'll leave that open to debate. ✦ Ian Book Building His Case As An All-Timer UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com Among his many accomplishments, Book is on pace to leave Notre Dame with the most career victories as a start- ing quarterback, the best career completion percentage and the lowest interception rate. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue and Gold Illustrated - Dec 5, 2020