Caleb Williams heaves a pass high in the air. The last time the star sophomore quarterback tossed the ball in a pressure situation, it was two weeks ago, in an act of desperation, praying that a man in cardinal red would catch the ball to save USC’s undefeated streak against Utah.
This time, it was an act of triumph with a leaping Brenden Rice on the receiving end to decisively put the Trojans ahead for the rest of the game.
“Awesome, gutsy win,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “We were scoring pretty quick offensively. So many guys stepped up. It would be hard to name them all right now.”
Williams and the Trojans spoiled Arizona’s Homecoming Game by passing for 411 yards even with key offensive pieces Mario Willams and Jordan Addison out with injuries. USC moved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in PAC-12 play.
“A lot of guys stepped up,” Williams said. “I put the ball where I thought was best, and the guys made some great plays.”
Redshirt junior wide receivers Tahj Washington and Kyle Ford rose to the occasion, recording 118 and 114 receiving yards respectively in a 45-37 victory.
“[Williams and I] always connect very well in practice,” Ford said. “And I definitely think that paid off today. I know I can perform like this, it wasn’t really a surprise to me.”
The Trojans had to settle for a field goal for their first drive of the game after the Wildcats swarmed Williams for a sack on the Arizona 28. Redshirt freshman field goal kicker Denis Lynch scored the first points for either side by kicking from 45 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Jayson de Laura answered right back, heaving a bullet that found the diving hand of sophomore wide receiver Dorian Singer for the Wildcats’ first touchdown with 7:01 to go in the first quarter.
On the second drive, Williams found an open redshirt freshman wide receiver Kyron Hudson for 21 yards on the USC 48, setting up Williams for a slingshot pass to freshman running back Raleek Brown on the left side on 3rd and 6. The Trojans converted 11 of 16 third downs in total.
Brown side-stepped the lone defensive end in his area to score the first USC touchdown in two weeks at 2:57 in the first quarter.
De Laura struck again, passing to freshman wide reciever Tetairoa McMillan on 3rd and long to put the Wildcats in field goal range. Sophomore kicker Tyler Loop tied it at 10 with a 42-yard field goal.
The Trojans’ offense answered by heaving a 46-yard pass to Washington before firing a strike to Rice to bring up first and goal. Williams evaded the defensive tackles and fired a running pass to a leaping Rice up the middle for another touchdown, putting USC ahead for the rest of the game. Lynch tacked on another point with a booming kick.
On 2nd and 10 on the USC 4, redshirt junior defensive tackle De’jon Benton threw down junior running back Michael Wiley by the mask, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
The error set the Wildcats up for a touchdown. However, the Trojan defense imposed three key stops to force Arizona to kick. Redshirt junior safety Max Williams capped off the defensive effort by tackling Wiley for a loss of seven yards. Loop delivered the 25-yard strike to cut the deficit down to four.
On the very next drive, USC looked to have their third touchdown of the game with a pass on the right side to redshirt senior wide receiver Terrell Bynum, but a holding penalty on redshirt freshman right tackle Mason Murphy called the touchdown back. Riley asked Lynch to kick from 56 yards, but the field goal missed well to the right, keeping the score at 17-14.
USC attempted an eleventh-hour scoring drive. But with four seconds left at the Arizona 44, the clock ran down even before the referees spotted the ball, eliminating the chance for the Trojans to score. Riley was outraged, shouting in the referees’ faces as the players headed to the locker rooms.
“[The referees] admitted that they messed it up,” Riley said. “My question is if you messed up, why wasn’t it reviewed?”
Coming out of the half, the Wildcats were trapped on their own side of the field. But de Laura heaved a long ball to Singer for 73 yards, the longest play by either side. The Trojans responded by putting up another three crucial stops to force the Wildcats to accept yet another field goal, bringing the game to within a single point.
The momentum carried into the offensive side of the ball as Williams tossed a pass to Ford, who sprinted all the way to the Arizona 5. Washington added to his impressive game, diving to receive a pass from Williams to put the Trojans up 23-16. Lynch made it 24-16.
Arizona stuck with USC for the rest of the game, bringing the score to 31-29 at one point. But de Laura’s two-point attempt after a touchdown sailed over the head of everyone.
Arizona could not keep up for the rest of the game.
The Trojans will return to the Coliseum for their Homecoming game against California next Saturday. The Golden Bears are 1-4 in PAC-12 play and 3-5 overall.