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In the middle of fall camp, Marcus Freeman announced that Tyler Buchner will be the starting quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the season opener in Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Tyler Buchner will be the 18th different season-opening quarterback for the Irish over the last 26 years — which includes Everett Golson as a non-consecutive year starter.
Notre Dame Season Opening QB1’s Since 1997:
1997 — Ron Powlus
1998 — Jarious Jackson
1999 — Jarious Jackson
2000 — Arnaz Battle
2001 — Matt LoVecchio
2002 — Carlyle Holiday
2003 — Carlyle Holiday
2004 — Brady Quinn
2005 — Brady Quinn
2006 — Brady Quinn
2007 — Demetrius Jones
2008 — Jimmy Clausen
2009 — Jimmy Clausen
2010 — Dayne Crist
2011 — Dayne Crist
2012 — Everett Golson
2013 — Tommy Rees
2014 — Everett Golson
2015 — Malik Zaire
2016 — DeShone Kizer
2017 — Brandon Wimbush
2018 — Brandon Wimbush
2019 — Ian Book
2020 — Ian Book
2021 — Jack Coan
The Irish are 20-5 in season openers since 1997 with those 5 losses being in 2001 (Matt LoVecchio @ Nebraska Cornhuskers), 2004 (Brady Quinn @ BYU Cougars), 2007 (Demetrius Jones VS Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets), 2011 (Dayne Crist VS USF Bulls), and 2016 (DeShone Kizer vs Texas Longhorns).
Rather than get long-winded about the past, I merely offer up 25 years of stats. These are how the 16 QB’s that have started the season at QB for Notre Dame have fared. My new favorite stat is that from 1997-2007 there were a grand total of 8 TD’s thrown by the season-opening starter.
25 Years of ND QB Season Openers
| YEAR/QB | OPPONENT | PASSING | TD | INT | RUSHING | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR/QB | OPPONENT | PASSING | TD | INT | RUSHING | TD |
| 1997 Ron Powlus | Georgia Tech (W) | 18-22 217 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| 1998 Jarious Jackson | Michigan (W) | 4-10 96 | 2 | 1 | 73 | 0 |
| 1999 Jarious Jackson | Kansas (W) | 9-17 89 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 1 |
| 2000 Arnaz Battle | Texas A&M (W) | 10-16 133 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 0 |
| 2001 Matt LoVecchio | Nebraska (L) | 11-24 78 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 Carlyle Holiday | Maryland (W) | 17-27 226 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2003 Carlyle Holiday | Washington State (W) | 21-24 149 | 1 | 1 | -4 | 0 |
| 2004 Brady Quinn | BYU (L) | 26-47 265 | 1 | 0 | -13 | 0 |
| 2005 Brady Quinn | Pitt (W) | 18-27 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 0 |
| 2006 Brady Quinn | Georgia Tech (W) | 23-38 246 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2007 Demetrius Jones | Georgia Tech (L) | 1-3 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 2008 Jimmy Clausen | San Diego St. (W) | 21-34 237 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Jimmy Clausen | Nevada (W) | 15-18 315 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 Dayne Crist | Purdue (W) | 19-26 215 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2011 Dayne Crist | South Florida (L) | 7-15 95 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 0 |
| 2012 Everett Golson | Navy (W) | 12-18 144 | 1 | 1 | -8 | 0 |
| 2013 Tommy Rees | Temple (W) | 16-23 346 | 3 | 0 | -5 | 0 |
| 2014 Everett Golson | Rice (W) | 14-22 295 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 3 |
| 2015 Malik Zaire | Texas (W) | 19-22 313 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 2016 DeShone Kizer | Texas (L) | 15-24 215 | 5 | 0 | 77 | 1 |
| 2017 Brandon Wimbush | Temple (W) | 17-30 184 | 2 | 1 | 106 | 1 |
| 2018 Brandon Wimbush | Michigan (W) | 12-22 170 | 1 | 1 | 59 | 0 |
| 2019 Ian Book | Louisville (W) | 14-23 193 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 1 |
| 2020 Ian Book | Duke (W) | 19-31 263 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| 2021 Jack Coan | Florida State (W) | 26-35 366 | 4 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
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