PHILADELPHIA– USC coach Lincoln Riley has built a reputation for running an assembly line for Heisman Trophy candidates.
Riley coached two Heisman winners– quarterbacks Baker Mayfield in 2017 and Kyler Murray in 2018– when he was at Oklahoma, not to mention a Heisman finalist in quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2019.
Now, in his first year at Troy, he has the front runner for college football’s biggest award.
Quarterback Caleb Williams, who started his career at Oklahoma before following Riley to USC, has sky rocketed to the favorite’s role after his team’s 38-27 win over Notre Dame at the Coliseum. Williams
completed 18-of 22 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown and he rushed nine times for 35 yards and three more touchdowns as his team moved to No. 4 in the latest AP rankings, and they face Utah Friday for the Pac-12 championship
in Las Vegas.. A win in that game should lock the 11-1 Trojans into a spot in the four-team College Football Playoffs.
CJ Stroud of Ohio State was the pre-season favorite to win the Heisman and was the leader among Vegas odd makers all year. Stroud’s Buckeyes were No. 2 in the country before Saturday’s huge Big Ten matchup against Michigan.
He passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns but had two costly interceptions in a 45-23 loss in Columbus.
Williams has infused college football with star power. He has thrown for 3712 yards and 34 touchdowns with just three interceptions and completed 32 of 43 passes for 450 yards two touchdowns while running for another during a 48-45 victory over cross town rival UCLA at the Rose Bowl. And he dresses the part, wearing a white double-breasted suit with no suit and unrleased Nike shoes to the Notre Dame game.
