The USC Trojans hoped last week’s offensive performance against Oregon State was just an aberration, and not a sign of things to come. Good news for the team: Head coach Lincoln Riley’s offense returned to its old ways against the Arizona State Sun Devils, scoring early, quickly and often.
The Trojans first three drives all went the length of the field for touchdowns. All three drives each only took about four minutes off the clock.
However, nearly the exact same could be said for USC’s defense which, before last week, was prone to giving up ground in the run game. The “bend-don’t-break” mentality that characterizes defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s unit offered little resistance to Arizona State’s run game in the first half.
But in the second half, the USC offense continued to hum, while the defense upped its intensity. After allowing 17 points and 218 total yards in the first half, the group only gave up 113 yards and a single touchdown in the second half on the way to a 42-25 victory.
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams and the passing attack were in sync from the get-go, peppering the Sun Devils with short passes that gained chunk yardage. Riley got the ball out of Williams’ hands quickly by utilizing the running backs and receivers in screens, and letting them gain yards after catch. Unlike last week against Oregon State, where Williams struggled to diagnose defensive coverages and find open targets, he looked entirely comfortable making throws and operating the offense.
“I thought [Williams] really threw the ball well tonight,” Riley said. “The balls were on target, on the money and gave our guys a lot of chances to make plays. So he was a tremendous playmaker.”
On the other end, redshirt junior dual-threat quarterback Emory Jones and graduate student running back Xazavian Valladay led the Arizona State offense in the first half. The Sun Devils gashed USC for 101 rushing yards, gaining more than six yards per carry.
The Trojan defense also didn’t come up with a takeaway until the game was all but decided. Despite the offense’s early production, USC’s struggles in fitting the run and strong play by Jones kept the game from being over early. The Trojans entered halftime with only a four-point lead.
As the game progressed, and Arizona State defended the spread attack with more success, Williams flashed his uncanny ability to improvise, showing why he was a top-ranked recruit in 2021 and the highest-ranked player in the transfer portal last year.
“He did a great job in some of the scramble situations again and got us out of trouble a couple of times,” Riley said. “Him being able to evade people in the pocket the last two weeks have been really impressive.”
In USC’s second drive, facing a third-and-4 on its own side of the field, Williams escaped what looked like a sure sack from two pass rushers, scrambling to gain a first down to extend the drive. A couple minutes later, at the Sun Devils’ seven-yard line, Williams sprinted to his right at full speed to evade a rusher, then threw back across his body to sophomore wide receiver Mario Williams in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown.
The full Caleb Williams experience could perhaps be summarized in USC’s next possession. Forced back to the Trojans’ six-yard line, with the pocket collapsing in every direction, Williams jumped off two feet to make a throw to the boundary, over a lurking defensive back, for a 13-yard completion to junior wide receiver Jordan Addison.
“I go off and do my job, I turn around, it looks like he’s about to be sacked and he Houdini’s out of it and all of a sudden we have a 20-yard gain,” redshirt senior running back Travis Dye said. “I don’t understand it either … He can make a bad situation look just phenomenal.”
The drive continued with Williams displaying the full range of his skills –– his ability to feel pressure, use his foot speed and strong arm to extend plays and make off-script throws –– and was capped off with a four-yard touchdown pass to redshirt senior tight end Malcolm Epps.
Williams finished the night 27-of-37 for 348 passing yards with three touchdowns and an interception. The interception was his first of the season, on the offense’s opening drive of the second half, coming on a botched goal-line fade to Addison.
The USC defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and the offense followed with a touchdown drive, which made it a two-score game.
“It was how we responded [to the interception], which is what I was happy about,” Williams said. “As a team, myself, the defense going out doing their thing, and then we go back out there and we go score.”
The Trojans will look to remain undefeated in next Saturday’s matchup at the Coliseum against Washington State. While USC’s start has turned heads around the country, Dye hopes the Trojans will maintain the focus and intensity that has propelled the team so far.
“Some people don’t know what it’s like to lose on this team, and that can be a problem, but we’re going to get it right,” Dye said. “We’re going to make sure that our guys know that winning like this is very rare.”