USC sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams may still have the juice to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.
But his team isn’t going anywhere near the College Football Playoff semi-finals or the Rose Bowl.
Utah took care of that, dominating the second half of a 47-24 victory over the Trojans in the Pac-12 championship game at Las Vegas.
The Utes beat USC (10-2) for a two straight time this season, scoring 24 straight points at one time to win their second straight title.
“You come as far as this team has come and this program has come in the last 12 months, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “They were definitely the better team tonight. They deserved it.
USC may well be the future of West Coast college football again.
But Utah coach Kyle Whittingham had plenty of bulletin board material in the days leading up to the game. “Everyone said it was a foregone conclusion that Caleb Williams was going to win the Heisman and USC were going to the playoff.
We used that. We had a chip on our shoulders. We got the message loud and clear that people were underestimating us.”
Utah got off to a slow start, falling behind 17-3 in the first quarter, as Williams looked like he was single handedly going to have to dominate play. Williams had a Heisman worthy performance, finishing with 363 passing yards, 21 rushig years, three touchdowns and one inception. But it all collapsed in a hurry. After escaping for a eelctric 59-yard run, Williams never looked the same. Afterwards, Riley admitted Williams popped his hamstring.
“I asked him at one point, I was like, Are you 50 percent?”” riley said. “And I mean, he wasn’t even close. I definitely thought about pulling him but he wouldn’t have let me. He wouldn’t even let me take him
out at the end.”
It was a guttsy performance, mirroring those of his hero the late Kobe Bryant,, but Williams didn’t have any magic left.
Utah tied the game at 17-17 as quarterback Cam Rising put together a couple drives before half. It was quickly apparent Williams had nothing else the rest of the game, favoring his left side and visibly limping while hesitating on his throws. He tried to get loose on a stationary bike but nohting worked. Williams was sacked four times and had no success in third down situations, lacing the pinppoint accuracy he had throughout the season. .
Riley might have thought about subbing a healthy freshman Miller Moss for Williams, but he felt Williams was USC’s destiny.
Utah, as Whittingham said, “smelled blood in the water” and put constant pressure on Williams the entire fourth quarter.
Rising,the game’s MVP, passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns, completing passes to six different receiversHe took advantage of a mismatch at tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Thomas Yassmin, who combined for 121 yards, including a 60 yard TD pass to Yassmin that pushed the lead by to 10 after USC cut the lead to 27-24.in the fourth quarter. Then they poured it on
Utah, which finished with 533 total yards, outgaining and outscoring the Trojans while exposing USC as a poor tackling team against the run, leading Rising to lean in during the post game ceremony and yell, “Trojan Killers.” .
