There’s an old quote attributed to Lou Holtz that sums up fans insatiable desire for more that goes: “First they told me we didn’t win enough, so we won more. Then they said we didn’t win them all, so then we went out and won them all. Then they said we weren’t winning by enough.”

In many ways, Ian Book is the perfect quarterback for this late-era Brian Kelly program at Notre Dame. He’s been a big part of the post-2016 turnaround injecting a level of stability at the position that has been more than welcomed, helped the team to a playoff run last year, and possibly leads a lot more success this season.

Yet, fans are itching for more.

That eagerness for something better when you’re getting close and can taste greatness just around the corner is identifiable for most fans. It’s why I’ve been more critical than most of the recruiting at Notre Dame–it just needs to get better in order to truly enter the next (or final?) stratosphere of college football. Eventually, fans will get tired of banging their head against the wall even if the current level is better than all but 7 or 8 other programs.

With this in mind–of wanting more and needing something better offensively–do we dare say these words? Should we be happy if Ian Book decides not to return next season?

Be careful what you wish for, Irish fans! When I look ahead to 2020 I can’t think of a bigger story line than Ian Book returning for a 3rd year of starting. From what I’ve seen to date I’m not really excited to start over at the quarterback position.

That’s not to say I refuse to see the frustration. Notre Dame needs a game changer at the quarterback position, Ian Book hasn’t delivered to that level, so why be upset if he moves on? We typically think this way with every other position on the field so why not quarterback?

Of course, this whole idea assumes Phil Jurkovec will be as steady as Book, and even if he’s a little less efficient early on in 2020 (ND should open 4-0 regardless of quarterback the schedule is that easy) at least he provides a perceived higher ceiling with better running and a bigger arm. Jurkovec offers a sense of hope (as does any backup who fans think is really talented) in a way Book cannot right now. There’s also a belief with Book out of the way it’ll afford Jurkovec the reps necessary to reach his potential quicker in addition to making the 2021 and 2022 teams stronger with an extra year of Jurkovec’s development.

This isn’t exactly crazy talk. Jurkovec may be a superstar-in-waiting who steps into the starting role and breaks Notre Dame through in the big games against the top 10 programs in the country.

I’d bet against it though and would still much rather have Book come back for his final year with the Irish because if Jurkovec really is that good he will eventually prove it whether Book is here or not, and I’d rather have Book here as insurance. My perception is also colored by two important factors:

1) I haven’t seen enough from Jurkovec to put all my eggs in his basket. He’s still largely just an idea, not a concrete reality. He’s surrounded by way too many maybes. We can talk about his inexperience in a positive light but he hasn’t shown anything yet to think he’ll be a top college quarterback next year and I’d expect plenty of growing pains if he’s starting in the 2020 opener in Ireland.

2) I don’t buy that this program is really that close to gridiron glory. Or at least that that things are so close that it necessitates moving on from Book or putting most of the blame on him for why the program can’t turn the corner. I might feel different if Jurkovec was like Tua or Trevor Lawrence but he’ll be entering year 3 soon and has been given plenty of time to show himself as that type of generational quarterback.

There is a catch to all this, though.

Should the Irish defeat Michigan this Saturday night and Book looks anywhere in the range from serviceable to great he’ll be in a position as The Guy that wouldn’t be quite unassailable but it’ll be damn close. If Notre Dame gets past Michigan then Ian Book has a good shot at a career 20-2 record as starter by the end of the regular season and with a bowl win could bump up his starting winning percentage to .913 which would surpass Tony Rice for second-best in Irish history.

Maybe that makes Book much more likely to try a shot at a pro career this January but if he’s holding up the large trophy with oranges in a couple months I don’t know how you wish him well and want him to leave.

However, a loss to Michigan could weirdly flip things dramatically especially if Book doesn’t play well. Then you could look at his record and say he’s beaten 8 teams from 14 career wins who were .500 or worse (or currently .500 or worse) and his 3-3 record against ranked teams (kindly including the LSU bowl win) doesn’t feature wins against anyone better than No. 15th in the country.

Is it fair to say the Michigan game could be a tipping point for Ian Book?

Win and there will be a lot of good feelings around the program. Lose, and not only do you feel the ignominy of being defeated by Michigan but the Year Two Brian Kelly Quarterback Regression debate likely kicks into high gear for the rest of the season.

Saturday night is also a monumental game for Brian Kelly and the program in general. We don’t need to cover how satisfying a win in Ann Arbor would be while sending Michigan reeling toward (at best) an 8-4 season and the Irish towards a major bowl game. With no other games scheduled in the series it adds another layer of intrigue to finish things off for Kelly on a high note with 3 straight wins and 4 out of the last 5 against Michigan.

Even though statistically speaking this is by far the most likely loss for the Irish from the remaining games a defeat nonetheless would sting considerably. Just like a poor performance from Book would begin to color his history differently, so too would a loss for Notre Dame as a program. Instead of “This is a really impressive and fun 3-year run where 34-5 is in play” it feels like a loss at Michigan could turn things towards a spiked level of frustration over losing big games, lack of post-season hardware, and a precious missed opportunity to lord superiority over weirdo Jim Harbaugh.