Caleb Williams played the worst game of his career during USC’s loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and presumed No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft threw three interceptions that ultimately proved to be the difference on the cold, wet night in South Bend.
Although Caleb Williams did not play well, outside of the three picks, he went 23-of-37 for 199 yards and a touchdown. Had that been all, it would have been a lot better, but not enough to get the job done.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t all. Williams’ interception woes were costly. The Trojans might have had a better opportunity to win down the stretch if not for the turnovers.
And to Williams’ credit, his offensive line did not give him much time. The Fighting Irish lived in the backfield all night and he can only dance around in the backfield so much for so long.
That does not excuse the three picks. That won’t bring any success.
Regardless of who was at fault, USC suffered its first loss of the season by 28 points. Ouch.
Lincoln Riley’s team is not eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. There is a lot of ball left.
However, it will be an uphill battle. And the Trojans did not look like they will win out on Saturday. They looked like they will lose at least one more game to Cal, Utah, Washington, Oregon or UCLA. Not good.
Caleb Williams was enraged.
Notre Dame fans stormed the field following the win, and one obnoxious Golden Domer ran up to the visiting quarterback and shoved a phone right in his face. Williams showed restraint and did not clock the guy like any right-minded individual would have wanted to in that moment, but he was visibly upset.
That frustration carried into the locker room for postgame interviews.
As he and Riley spoke to the media, Williams’ body language said it all. Exasperated is one many words to describe how he looked while answering questions.
Williams was particularly antsy as his head coach talked about everything that went wrong and how every person on the team will take responsibility for their errors. He could not stand still while Riley spoke to the work necessary to get back on track.
USC has Utah at home this weekend as the gauntlet continues. The Trojans will have Cal on the road, top-five Washington at home, likely top-10 Oregon in Eugene, and UCLA at home.
Williams is the key to their success. He has to will them to victory.