Now that Notre Dame has a full schedule, comments from both sides have been flying about what it means for the 2020 season. The Fighting Irish are the second-best team in the ACC and the Notre Dame detractors now believe the ACC is going to beat Notre Dame down. ACC delusions aside, Notre Dame may now have an easier schedule. However, they now have to play a higher level of QB talent in the ACC.
ACC Talent
The ACC isn't a great conference top to bottom. Some may even call it a poor man's Big 12 with one elite team at the top and then a mess in the middle. With Notre Dame jumping in the mix, they not only boost the conference profile, but they are also the second-best team. Anything less than a conference championship appearance would be a massive disappointment.
For as mediocre as the ACC is, they do have a ton of QB talent in 2020. 247Sports recently ranked its 50 best players in the country, and three were ACC signal callers.
Notre Dame lost USC quarterback Kedon Slovis from its schedule, but he is replaced by North Carolina passer Sam Howell. Slovis ranked 37th in the 247Sports list, but Howell ranks 11th.
There is also the possibility of a very familiar face popping up this season. All of this puts more pressure on arguably the most important player to Notre Dame in 2020.
Ian Book
Book could have a career in politics with how hotly debated he is by the fanbase. It seems to be an even split between people that believe he is the one or believes he can't meet expectations. Wherever you stand, there is an argument for both sides. But one thing is clear, Book needs to improve against better teams.
As the leader and QB at Notre Dame, he is going to carry a huge weight on his shoulders for 2020. With so many great quarterbacks on this year's new schedule, Book will be compared almost every week to his counterpart. The pressure is always around the starting QB at Notre Dame.
But now Notre Dame is expected to make a conference championship run with an easier schedule. Book will need to be better than he was against the likes of Michigan and USC last season for Notre Dame to try for a playoff push.
Boston College
BC isn't going to blow anyone away with talent or likely make much noise in the ACC. However, Phil Jurkovec is making a push for a waiver to play in the 2020 season. If Jurkovec gets his chance to play, it will answer some questions the fanbase had over the last year.
Jurkovec was a highly touted recruit who never really saw the field. He was never able to dethrone Book and decided to transfer to Boston College. When comparing the two rosters, Boston College is a fine team but shouldn't threaten Notre Dame. However, Book will have some added pressure to outperform his old teammate. We all saw Book quiet the crowd with his last-minute touchdown against Virginia Tech. The criticism had gotten to him.
If Jurkovec outplays Book, the criticism and complaints will ramp up once again and it will follow Ian Book all season. The fanbase was split and some believed Jurkovec was the answer. If Jurkovec has a huge game or even upsets Notre Dame, it would likely have a direct effect on Book's confidence moving forward.
Clemson
The number one overall player according to 247Sports for the 2020 season is Trevor Lawrence. He has a single loss in two years of college play and is a lock for one of the top two draft picks when he goes pro. Expecting Book to out-duel a generational talent and future top NFL draft pick would be unfair. Ian Book isn't better than Trevor Lawrence, but neither is anybody else.
The biggest thing with this game is if Ian Book goes into witness protection or not. He has started to build a bit of a narrative of disappearing in big games. The Michigan, USC, and 2018 Clemson games were struggles all around but Ian Book led the charge.
If Book puts up another stat line as he did in those three, this game will get out of hand, quickly. He has the luxury of playing at home and if the schedule holds, they should play Duke the week before. Notre Dame has the supporting cast, however, it all hinges on Ian Book.
North Carolina
Howell is quickly becoming the new darling of college football. He had an impressive true freshman season and almost knocked off Clemson. Teaming Howell up with a rejuvenated Mack Brown has produced some unexpected results. North Carolina is recruiting and improving at a rapid rate and Howell is ranked as the 11th best player in college football.
Sam Howell had more passing yards, more touchdowns, a higher rating, and only one more interception than Book in 2019. The incoming sophomore is becoming a star in college football and is likely a feature high round pick in the NFL. However, North Carolina is likely another year away from becoming a great team. Ian Book has a better supporting cast that will likely be the difference between the two.
Improving ACC
When Book is playing at the top of his game, he is one of the best in college football. If he can build on the peaks and limit the valleys, Book should cruise through all but Clemson. But if he finds himself in the same position as last year, there are numerous teams that can knock them off. Louisville, Pitt and Florida State could all be looking at strong years this season as well.
I won't pretend that overnight the ACC has become a juggernaut because they haven't. Notre Dame on paper is the second-best team in this conference. But the ACC has enough budding teams that a few drops in play like Virginia Tech in 2019 could lead to a loss. If Notre Dame drops a few "conference games", the college football world will never let them forget it.
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Notre Dame QB Ian Book Has A Number Of Intriguing ACC Matchups In 2020 - Sports Illustrated
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