PITTSBURGH — Ben Skowronek retreated into his social bubble after Notre Dame’s unconvincing victory over Louisville last weekend, a grind of a performance that appeared to lower the ceiling of this season. As had been the case many nights since the Northwestern graduate transfer relocated east down the Indiana Toll Road, he ended up spending time with quarterback Ian Book.
Skowronek and Book have been matched from the start of his Notre Dame experience. When Notre Dame needed a host for Skowronek on an official visit during the program’s awards show in December, the starting quarterback was asked to handle it. When Skowronek wanted some extra summer work in the middle of a pandemic, the receiver flew to California and spent two weeks running routes with Book by day and crashing at the family’s home in El Dorado Hills by night.
There’s enough rapport between the two that Book let his guard down after a mess of a passing performance against…
