Ian Book stood alone to start Notre Dame’s season, the only captain representing the Irish at the coin toss. And the fifth-year quarterback stood alone at the end of No. 10 Notre Dame’s 27-13 win against Duke, partaking in a socially-distanced rendition of the “Alma Mater.”
No matter how you looked at it, the Irish season opener was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, including while the clock ran, particularly whenever Book was behind center. Maybe that would have been less noticeable if his expected targets had been available, but a broken foot has sidelined junior receiver Kevin Austin for more than a month, a balky hamstring pulled up graduate transfer receiver Ben Skowronek in the first half and junior receiver Braden Lenzy was missing from action, a situation that more and more sounds like another hamstring issue.