We are talking about the USC-Notre Dame game with Fighting Irish Wire and its editor, Nick Shepkowski.
We asked Nick, “Who is the non-Caleb Williams USC offensive player the Fighting Irish have to contain on Saturday?”
Nick’s answer: “MarShawn Lloyd. Notre Dame was gashed in the run game last year and that allowed Caleb Williams to throw at will. If USC gets running again it’ll be a long, long night for the host Irish.”
We agree with Nick.
MarShawn Lloyd has been underfed by Lincoln Riley. He should be getting the ball more often. One thing to watch on Saturday is how often Marcus Freeman has several guys back in coverage with a light tackle box. If he dares Caleb Williams to be patient and is intent on shutting off the deep ball, Riley needs to adjust and run the ball with Lloyd and make Notre Dame commit more bodies to the tackle box. Then the passing game might open up. If Lloyd has a big game (let’s say 150 rushing yards or more), USC will be in fantastic shape.
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