Notre Dame will 'have hands full' with LSU's rushing attack

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Daelin Hayes of Notre Dame is eager to play the Citrus Bowl. Laken Litman/IndyStar

ORLANDO, Fla. – Notre Dame has seen its fair share of explosive running backs this season.

First there was the tandem from Georgia in early September. For the most part, the Fighting Irish contained the duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel by holding them to a combined 136 rushing yards and one touchdown. Then there was L.J. Scott from Michigan State, who only mustered 61 yards in a loss to the Fighting Irish. A few weeks later, Notre Dame’s defense stuffed USC’s Ronald Jones for a mere 32 yards and although Heisman Trophy finalist Bryce Love ran for 125 yards in the season finale, he wasn’t the main culprit for Stanford’s win that night.

When Notre Dame faces LSU in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day, it will be tasked with stopping another dominant running attack. Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams may not have the national name recognition as the aforementioned backs, but Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko warns the pair is just as dangerous.

“As we look at them, they’re as good as we’ve seen,” Elko said. “I don’t want to make comparisons to other teams, but they are really, really talented and they’re both very similar. You know, they’re both big, strong, physical backs that can get downhill, can stick a foot in the ground and change direction well, can hit the explosive plays. We’re going to have our hands full with those guys.”

Guice, who is a projected 2018 NFL first-round draft pick, and Williams have combined for 1,929 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns this season.

Guice, who was previously a tandem with Leonard Fournette before Fournette left for the NFL, has dealt with a knee injury this season. The junior still managed to rush for 1,153 yards with 11 touchdowns while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

The last time Notre Dame and LSU played each other in the 2014 Music City Bowl, Fournette ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. He also returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Irish coach Brian Kelly remembers those stats well and recently said Guice is similar to Fournette physically.

“Great speed, but what really stood out to me was his ability to run over guys,” Kelly said. “Another line of great backs at LSU. And he’s feature, too. He’s going to get the ball. He’s going to get his carries.”

Williams gets time, too. The senior compiled 776 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 5.7 yards per carry. He also owns the record for the biggest play, run or pass, against Alabama’s No. 3 defense this season when he bolted 54 yards on the Crimson Tide to set up the Tigers’ lone touchdown in a 24-10 loss. 

By comparison, Notre Dame’s Josh Adams rushed for 1,386 yards in 2017 with nine scores while averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He also boasted seven plays of 60 yards or more from scrimmage this season, tied for most in the country.

In his first year at Notre Dame, Elko’s unit allowed 52 plays of 20 yards or more from scrimmage, to rank 39th nationally. However, 34 of those plays were part of drives that ended in 147 opposing points. LSU uses a lot of shifts, motions and jet sweeps that are difficult to defend and forces players to communicate at a high level, Elko said, in order to limit those big plays.

“You’ve got to be able to get your feet set in the ground because they’re extremely gifted athletically,” Elko said. “They’ve got two great backs. They’ve got some really talented kids on the outside. They’ve got a big offensive line. And if you’re ever short numbers, if you’re ever not aligned properly, if you’re ever not set, they’re going to really take advantage of you.

"And so we’re trying to make sure that we give them enough looks that we can be multiple, but that our kids feel real confident with what we are trying to do so that we can get set and get ready to go.”

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

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NO. 15 NOTRE DAME VS. NO. 14 LSU

Kickoff: 1 p.m., Monday, Orlando, Fla.

TV: WRTV-6.