Notre Dame Football: Stop Calling For Brandon Wimbush To Be Benched

By this time, we know exactly what Brandon Wimbush is as a quarterback. We have seen it for 15 career starts. He has accuracy issues. He sometimes loses confidence in his throwing motion. He is better at throwing the ball deep than he is throwing short touch passes. There are 15 games worth of film to back this up. And through all that, I am confident in him being Notre Dame’s STARTING quarterback for the rest of the season.

This does not mean I think Ian Book should be on the bench at all times. There are going to be situations for Book to come in and contribute, just like any other backup player on the team. Book has strengths that can help the Notre Dame Fighting Irish win football games in certain situations. I just think that Brandon Wimbush should be getting the majority of the snaps behind center.

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First, Wimbush has proven that he is smart with the football. In 2017 he threw 275 passes and only 6 were intercepted. That is a pretty good percentage. This year has been a little worse with 4 INTs in 75 attempts. Not great but it is a proven track record of not turning the ball over. With a defense as good as Notre Dame has, taking care of the ball is a key to victory.

Let’s not forget that this running back group is coming around. Tony Jones Jr. and Jafar Armstrong have both shown flashes of being productive backs. Dexter Williams is also due back after the Wake Forest game. Leaning on a strong defense and improving running game isn’t a bad thing.

My main reason for keeping Brandon Wimbush as the QB is we know exactly who is behind him on the depth chart. Ian Book has played enough for us to know what he is as a college football player. He is a serviceable backup who can play in spot duty and occasionally come in the game to give Wimbush a break.

It’s not like Brian Kelly has a Tom Brady sitting on his bench.

Ian Book is a good backup and has some strengths the coaches should exploit in a game situation. He is not going to come in and lead this team to a 14-0 record and a National Championship. I have news for you, Notre Dame isn’t going undefeated with either of these guys playing quarterback. Some fans act like Ian Book is some all-star Heisman candidate that Brian Kelly is too dumb to start. That just isn’t true.

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Lastly, Brandon Wimbush is winning football games! If Notre Dame was losing football games with Wimbush starting, I would be all about making a change. But that isn’t the case. He was 9-3 last year and is 3-0 this year as a starter. 12-3 is pretty dang good coming off a 4-8 season in 2016.

Some games have not been aesthetically pleasing, but Notre Dame is winning! At the end of the day that is all anyone should care about. Ugly wins count just the same. A good running game and defense can go along way in college football.

This can obviously all change if Notre Dame starts losing games. But as for right now, give Brandon Wimbush a break. Let the guy play HIS game and keep winning football games.