College football Week 3 players of the week: Ian Book shines for Notre Dame

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book headlines our college football players of the week after accounting for six touchdowns.

The theme for the start of the 2019 season has been stellar quarterback play. From Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, Jake Fromm, Jalen Hurts and Trevor Lawrence, the sport has dominant players under center. But don’t forget about Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book who had the best game of his career in the 66-14 win over New Mexico. Book has flown under the radar despite leading the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff last year.

Week 3 players of the week

Honorable Mentions:

• Jacob Eason, QB: Washington – 18/25 att, 262 yds, 3 TD
• Sam Ehlinger, QB: Texas – 23/27 att, 279 yds, 3 TD
• Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR: Liberty – 8 rec, 174 yds, 2 TD
• Michael Warren II, RB: Cincinnati – 12 car, 113 yds, 3 TD
• Trevor Lawrence, QB: Clemson – 22/39, 395 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT; 42 rush yards, 1 TD

10. Chris Robison, QB: Florida Atlantic

• 33/41 att, 366 yds, 4 TD

Bet you didn’t expect to see a Florida Atlantic Owl make the list, but it was hard to ignore the gutsy performance of Chris Robison. The Oklahoma transfer came up clutch in the team’s first win of the season.

9. Kobe Lewis, RB: Central Michigan

• 27 car, 146 yds, 3 TD

Making his debut as the lead back, Kobe Lewis had as good a first start as one could ask for after filling in for injured senior running back Jonathan Ward. Lewis could be eyeing a full-time workload as the starter for the Chippewas.

8. Jake Fromm, QB: Georgia

• 17/22 att, 279 yds, 3 TD

Georgia’s quarterback Jake Fromm looks to be finding his groove in his third season as the full-time starter. In his third game this season, Fromm only had five incompletions against Arkansas State in a 55-0 rout in Athens, Georgia.

7. Justin Fields, QB: Ohio State

• 14/24 att, 199 yds, 3 TD
• 4 car, 11 yds, TD

Justin Fields is building quite an impressive Heisman resume with another stellar outing in Week 3. Place just one spot ahead of former teammate Jake Fromm, Fields thus far has outdueled his former Georgia counterpart in 2019.

6. Dillon Gabriel, QB: UCF

• 22/30 att, 347 yds, 4 TD

If this was a list of the most impressive performances of the week, Gabriel would have definitely been slotted No. 1. UCF’s starter had a fantastic game against a Stanford win desperate for a win with KJ Costello returning. Gabriel stood tall and finished with a big win in a possible trap game.

5. J.K. Dobbins, RB: Ohio State

• 22 att, 193 yds, TD
• 2 rec, 14 yds, TD

J.K. Dobbins has been slightly forgotten this year as Travis Etienne and Jonathan Taylor have stolen the spotlight early on this season. Dobbins received a lot of touches on Saturday against Indiana, bursting into the end zone on two separate occasions.

4. Jalen Hurts, QB: Oklahoma

• 15/20 att, 289 yds, 3 TD
• 14 car, 150 yds, TD

Perhaps the hottest player in college football, Jalen Hurts continues to shine in a Lincoln Riley system that fits perfectly with Hurts’ game. Another game where Hurts finds the end zone both on the ground and through the air.

3. Tua Tagovailoa, QB: Alabama

• 28/36 att, 444 yds, 5 TD

Another week and another visit to the Top 10 list for Tua Tagovailoa. Basically wrapping the game up at halftime even without a big game from Jerry Jeudy, Tua still managed to throw five touchdowns with only eight incompletions on 36 pass attempts.

2. Malcolm Perry, QB: Navy

• 5/7 att, 151 yds, 2 TD
• 24 car, 156 yds, 4 TD

Senior option quarterback Malcolm Perry had one of the best rushing performances by a quarterback of the season. Running the ball 24 times, four of which for touchdowns is truly an impressive feat. Perry accounted for all six of Navy’s touchdowns against East Carolina.

1. Ian Book, QB: Notre Dame

• 15/24 att, 360 yds, 5 TD
• 9 car, 46 yds, TD

Ian Book has faced some criticism for a bit of a slow start against Louisville in the team’s opener but he silenced all critics with an outstanding game against New Mexico. Book looks more than ready for an important meeting with Georgia next Saturday.