Ian Book misunderstood the question. Following Notre Dame’s 36–3 mid-November victory over Syracuse, which put the Fighting Irish one win away from an undefeated regular season, a reporter asked the first-year starting quarterback about what had changed in his life over the past two months.
“Nothing much, really,” Book said. The response earned a few chuckles. How is that possible? At the start of the season, Book was a second-stringer and few outside South Bend knew his name. Now he’s the guy leading Notre Dame to its first berth in the College Football Playoff, and his parents are getting Facebook messages from friends they haven’t heard from in 20 years.