Irish missing star QB Book vs. Seminoles

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book will miss the game Saturday against Florida State, coach Brian Kelly said.

Kelly called Book “day-to- day” with an “upper-body” injury which occurred last week in a victory at Northwestern.

Brandon Wimbush is in line to start when the third-ranked Irish (9-0) play the Seminoles (4-5) Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.

“[Book] got kneed. This is really much more of a rib injury. But as you know, when we’re talking about a rib injury, there’s a grade that can go from broken ribs to bruised ribs to internal injuries, so from this perspective, if he had severe kidney issues, that’s four to six weeks. We’re not dealing with that,” Kelly said.

“We think he’ll be prepared to play next week. We’re very confident that, if everything continues to move in the direction it has up to this point, that he’ll be able to play [Nov. 17] against Syracuse.”

UCF

No. 11 UCF is heavily favored to beat Navy to remain unbeaten and extend Football Bowl Subdivision’s longest winning streak to 22 games. Coach Josh Heupel insists the Knights aren’t paying attention to chatter about their chances of winding up in the College Football Playoff. “We’re only as good as our next performance. Saturday 12 o’clock vs. Navy is a huge test,” Heupel said. “However the season unfolds, I still believe if we go out and handle our business, things will shake out the way they’re supposed to.”

Utah State

The No. 14 Aggies enter their regularseason home finale against San Jose State Saturday entrenched among FBS’ best teams at finding the end zone. Utah State (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) ranks second in scoring offense (50.1 points per game), trailing only Alabama, and 14th in total offense (4,371 yards). The Aggies also have a knack for piling up points and yards fast. They rank second among FBS teams with 19 scoring drives under a minute.

“You don’t ever sit around and imagine scoring this many points. We’re in a good rhythm,” coach Matt Wells said.