SOUTH BEND – Brandon Wimbush has been the same after every Notre Dame game this season.

He walks into the postgame news conference, stands or sits at the podium — depending on the set up if it’s a home or away game — and stares at the stat sheet.

A reporter will ask a question about the game. A second of silence follows. He’s still looking at numbers.

Once he’s ready, Wimbush answers questions.

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So far this season, Notre Dame’s first-year starting quarterback has amassed 1,184 total yards of offense and scored 14 touchdowns — six passing, eight rushing. Notre Dame is 4-1, though not because of what Wimbush has been able to do in the passing game. He’s found ways to lead the Irish to win — which is most important, especially coming off last year’s 4-8 finish — but he’s frustrated that he isn’t producing the kinds of numbers he wants.

“I just feel like I have so much more (to give),” Wimbush said after Notre Dame’s 52-17 win over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. “I have another level of my game that I haven’t hit yet. I know I’m on the way to doing that.”

Wimbush might not even play this Saturday at North Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). He’s in a walking boot with a right foot injury and did not practice Tuesday. Backup Ian Book took the majority of reps. Wimbush’s dissatisfaction with his performance remains.

He threw for 96 yards but ran for a record-breaking 207 yards (and four touchdowns) in Notre Dame’s 49-20 road win over Boston College a couple weeks ago. After the game, he looked at the stats and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he looked up at reporters and said it’s not “ideal” to throw for less than 100 yards as a quarterback and that “troubles me a little bit.”

Since then, his performance has been up and down. He felt more comfortable after passing for 173 yards in a win over Michigan State, but then had 119 yards passing against the Redhawks.

“I think things could be clicking at a higher level,” Wimbush said. “You just feel that as a quarterback. You know when your offense is clicking.”

This week, Brian Kelly was asked about his quarterback’s demeanor. The coach used his own past struggles as motivation for Wimbush.

“I think he’s been really good,” Kelly said. “I mean, he’s like anybody else, he’s so competitive. He gets down on himself, and we have to keep him positive and keep telling him that he’s capable of doing the things necessary.

“You know, all I’ve told him is that we’re with you. I was a pretty bad coach last year, and people stuck with me, and I’m sticking with you. So we’re in this together.”

Wimbush knew he’d face the most scrutiny of anyone this season as Notre Dame’s new starter. He was a national topic of conversation all off-season and expectations were high. Through five games though, Wimbush has completed just over 50 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 114.0. Neither stat places him among the top 100 quarterbacks nationally.

Kelly has maintained since the spring that Wimbush’s progression within the offense would be a learning process. Wimbush still firmly believes he can make every throw Kelly and offensive coordinator Chip Long ask him to make. They like his leadership, ability to communicate within the offense and are willing to adjust to him, even if that means running the ball more while he continues to grow.

“We’re going to see this through,” Kelly said. “he’s going to get better each and every week in some fashion, and I just think that there’s going to be better days ahead for him.”

Follow IndyStar Notre Dame Insider Laken Litman on Twitter and Instagram: @lakenlitman.