No one can be quite sure what to expect out of the quarterbacks when Notre Dame faces USF in its lone nonconference game Saturday. In one corner, you’ve got Ian Book, who was decent against Duke but showed obvious signs that’s he still getting used to his receivers and Tommy Rees’ scheme. Though he and the rest of the offense got it going by the fourth quarter except for Kyren Williams, who did his job throughout, it would be nice to see the quarterback Irish fans have come to know. The Bulls are a perfect opponent against which he can open up a little more.
In the other corner, you’ve got Jordan McCloud, who leads an offense that carried the ball more times than threw it in a 27-6 win over The Citadel. The Bulls might be able to get away with that against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but McCloud will need to be the focal point a lot more when facing a quality Power Five team like the Irish. Though McCloud seems to be fairly accurate in his passes, throwing for only 68 yards simply won’t cut it in the environment he’s about to walk into. His career high is 267 yards last year against Cincinnati, and that’s what he needs to shoot for to at least a shot at pulling off the upset.