MarShawn Lloyd not seen during warmups for USC vs. Washington, status in question

USC could go through its Saturday matchup against Washington without one of its top playmakers. Running back MarShawn Lloyd wasn’t seen during warmups, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje, throwing his status for the game into question.

Lloyd was later ruled out, according to WeAreSC’s Erik McKinney.

Lloyd is one of the top players on the USC offense after transferring from South Carolina. He leads the Trojans with 766 rushing yards — over 500 more than the second-leading rusher — to go with a team-high eight touchdowns. His absence would be a big one as USC goes against a Washington defense that ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 135 rushing yards allowed per game.

USC is looking to make a statement against Washington, which sits atop the conference standings even despite some rough games over the last few weeks. The Trojans have lost two of their last three and nearly dropped last week’s game against Cal. However, the Golden Bears couldn’t convert the two-point conversion, giving the Trojans a much-needed win.

USC will have a tough task ahead Saturday against Washington. The Huskies possess a high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy favorite Michael Penix Jr., and Lincoln Riley knows how powerful that unit can be. He discussed the amount of respect he has for UW during a Zoom call this week.

“The quarterback has really good command of what they’re doing with him,” Riley said. “You can tell he and the staff are really in sync. He’s very decisive with the ball. He’s not much of a runner and does a good job getting the ball out of his hands and playing to their strengths. Which is getting the ball to the talented playmakers that they have.”

Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has impressed Riley with all of the eye candy the offenses uses presnap. It’s part of the reason the Washington receivers are so open all the time, forcing defenses to communicate while a lot is going on.

“They do just enough with the motions and shifts and all that of changing the pictures formationally to try to challenge or stress defenses. They’ve got good players and a good scheme. They’ve done a really nice job.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.