IAN BOOK

New Orleans Saints quarterback Ian Book says that because of the unpredictability of COVID-19, he and fellow reserve QB Trevor Siemian adopted the motto: “Stay ready.” Now, because of a COVID-19 outbreak infecting at least 15 Saints players and several coaches, Book is on the brink of seeing how ready he really is. The rookie out of Notre Dame took snaps at practice Friday as New Orleans' No. 1 QB and is slated to make his NFL regular-season debut as a starter against the Miami Dolphins in the Superdome on Monday night.

Desmond Ridder threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score late in the fourth quarter as No. 7 Cincinnati capitalized on its big opportunity and beat No. 9 Notre Dame 24-13 in a game the Bearcats hope can be the centerpiece of a College Football Playoff resume.

Chris Tyree returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and Drew Pyne threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter in relief of an injured Jack Coan as No. 12 Notre Dame beat No. 18 Wisconsin 41-13 at Soldier Field.

New quarterbacks are leading last year's College Football Playoff teams.

As the NFL celebrated the conclusion of an in-person draft on the shores of Lake Erie that went swimmingly one year after a virtual event caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one main fact emerged.

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (12) is sacked by Alabama defensive lineman Byron Young (47) in the second half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football game in Arlington, Texas, Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)ARLINGTON, Texas – Ian Book had Notre Dame moving with a chance to get within a touchdown of No. Notre Dame beat the Tigers 47-40 in November while Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sidelined because of a positive COVID-19 test. “I don’t have a unique problem at Notre Dame,” Kelly said. Everybody can keep saying, you know, Notre Dame is not good enough.

(AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)ARLINGTON, Texas – A truly untraditional Rose Bowl setting, a very common result for Alabama in the College Football Playoff. 4 Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal Rose Bowl played inside about 1,400 miles from Pasadena, California. “I don't think there’s anything quite like the Rose Bowl, the tradition, the setting, the mountains. 3 Ohio State, which beat Clemson 49-28 in the other CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. PERFECT AT COWS HOMEAlabama is 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, with a pair of convincing CFP semifinal wins there.

(AP Photo/Brian Blanco, File)Alabama teammates Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith along with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Florida’s Kyle Trask have been named finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Jones and Smith are the eighth set of teammates to be finalists together since the tradition started in 1982. The Crimson Tide is the second team to have three players in the top five in Heisman voting. In 1946, Army running back Glenn Davis won the Heisman, fellow running back Doc Blanchard finished fourth and quarterback Arnold Tucker was fifth. Iowa State running back Breece Hall was sixth this year, followed by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book and Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (12) looks for a receiver during the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against Notre Dame, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State topped the final Associated Press college football poll of the regular season Sunday with No. 4 Notre Dame comfortably ahead of No. Before the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its selections for the final, AP Top 25 voters released their final rankings. The only team to fall out of the rankings this week was Buffalo, which lost the Mid-American Conference title game. ___Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

2 Notre Dame 34-10 on Saturday to win its sixth straight ACC title. “His ability to run really stresses your coverage calls,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. Clemson has won all nine games Lawrence has started by at least 18 points and their average margin of victory in those games is 33.6 points. “We are trending in the right direction and we are playing our best football,” Lawrence said. Notre Dame: Notre Dame hopes to edge No.

It was Book’s 30th victory as a starter, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. “It’s a dream come true to be able to attend Notre Dame and have a good career,” Book said. Notre Dame started its run thanks to a roughing the passer by Syracuse that Book later turned into a 28-yard TD run. Book finished with 348 total yards, becoming only the second Irish player to move past 10,000 yards (10,008) in total offense. Notre Dame: The Irish have an extra week to rest up for Clemson after the conference adjusted the schedules earlier this week, canceling their last game.

2 Notre Dame overcame an early deficit to roll to a 45-31 victory over Boston College on Saturday. Ben Skowronek caught all three of Book’s TD passes, but also had one of three Notre Dame fumbles on the day. Th Eagles hung tough in the first half, recovering a pair of Notre Dame fumbles, but they scored only six points of the miscues. It was recovered by Notre Dame defensive end Daelin Hayes on the Eagles 49 with 2:05 left in the quarter. Boston College: The Eagles had moments they can build on, much like they did when they took Clemson to the brink last month.

4 Notre Dame shut down top-ranked Clemson with a couple of sacks to seal a 47-40 win Saturday night. 1 for the first time since taking down Florida State in 1993 at Notre Dame Stadium. Uiagalelei, starting in place of Trevor Lawrence for a second week, passed for 439 yards, the most ever by a Notre Dame opponent. Notre Dame: Avery Davis came to South Bend as a quarterback and has been moved to running back, receiver and defensive back. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are at Boston College, which might bring back some bad memories for Notre Dame fans.

Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek (11) celebrates as he goes in the end zone past Pittsburgh defensive back A.J. 3 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no such issues while handling the Panthers (3-4, 2-4) their fourth consecutive loss. The Fighting Irish effectively ended any hope Pitt — which has developed a reputation in recent years of being the occasional giant killer — might have had late in the second quarter. Three Pitt plays went nowhere and Irish sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey raced in untouched to block Kirk Christodoulou’s punt. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called Notre Dame “as good a team we saw on the football field in six years.”“I thought we'd stack up better," Narduzzi said.