Oct 21, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) scrambles out of the pocket against Southern California Trojans linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (42) at Notre Dame Stadium. Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush is not willing to enjoy a moment of satisfaction after he and his teammates earned the No. 3 ranking in the debut of this season’s College Football Playoff rankings.
“Work to be done,” Wimbush posted this week on his Twitter account, drawing thousands of likes.
The statement applies to the Fighting Irish’s championship goals as well as Wimbush’s individual development. The junior from New Jersey will make his eighth start when Notre Dame (7-1) hosts Wake Forest (5-3) on Saturday.
Thus far, most observers have credited Notre Dame’s stellar season to the old-school tenets of a stout defense and a reliable running game. The passing game has lagged behind as Wimbush has completed 51.5 percent of his pass attempts with an average of 5.96 yards per attempt.
Wimbush faces a challenge to improve upon those numbers against the Demon Deacons, who are No. 38 nationally with an average of 198.1 passing yards allowed per game.
“He wants to get the narrative to change,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told reporters this week. “He’s close. We’re really close to it, and it’ll shift here soon.”
Wimbush has proved to be more dangerous with his feet than his arm, but he is confident that he can improve as a downfield passer. His 11 rushing touchdowns this season mark the most by a quarterback in school history. When asked about setting the record, he said the passing touchdown record was what he coveted more.
That mark belongs to Brady Quinn, who passed for 37 touchdowns in 2006. Wimbush has passed for 10.
“He listens to that stuff,” Kelly said. “He listens to it probably a little bit too much, and we have to remind him that it’s the work that he does in practice and his commitment to that will change what happens, and he’s doing it. And it’s gradually occurring week in and week out.
“Then he heard how many touchdowns Brady Quinn threw, and I think it changed the whole thing, so I think he was pretty cool about it after that. I think he said, ‘I’m glad Brady Quinn threw that many touchdown passes, I don’t think I can throw that many.’
“So, it worked out pretty good actually, whoever gave him that stat. Good work. That was really good because then he forgot about it.”
Wimbush has completed 88 of 170 passes for 1,006 yards, with only two interceptions.
NOTES: LB Drue Tranquill is one of eight players in the country with three fumble recoveries this season. The senior also has 41 tackles this season, including 5.5 for loss. … Thanks in large part to Heisman Trophy candidate RB Josh Adams, the Fighting Irish are sixth in the nation with 317.9 rushing yards per game. They have rushed for a whopping 30 touchdowns in eight games. The team is averaging 6.9 yards per rushing attempt, which trails only Stanford and Arizona. … Notre Dame has allowed only one rushing touchdown this season, which is the best mark in college football.
