There’s no place like home — especially when home is a packed-out Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a rarity in the last decade of Trojans football.
It was a monumental occasion, as the Coliseum finally started to look and feel like head coach Lincoln Riley’s vision of a “mecca of college football.” In a stadium 72,613 fans strong, his team was up to the task.
Trojan fans had much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend, as No. 6 USC finished its regular season with an emphatic 38-27 rivalry win over Notre Dame Saturday night.
“These guys brought it to life,” Riley said about the Coliseum environment. “I don’t know how long it’s been since it was like that, but it was electric in there.
“I can’t say I knew this was gonna happen, but at the same time, I don’t believe in putting limits on what you can accomplish, especially if you get the right people in the building.”
By the end of the game, you could tell who the Coliseum crowd thought should win the Heisman. Sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams cooked up a masterpiece in his first USC-Notre Dame rivalry matchup.
Williams was comfortable in the chaos of the game. He was playing backyard football — scrambling all over the place and slinging daring passes anywhere and everywhere. With his first run of the game, he became the leading quarterback rusher in USC single-season history.
It was a tone-setting play to say the least, as the Heisman hopeful-turned-favorite went on to accrue 267 total yards with four total touchdowns, three of which came on foot. And, in true backyard football fashion, Williams even sneaked in a pair of punts.
“[My dad and I] have a rule: take what’s in front of you, and if it’s not there, scan the field. He also reminds me that I’m a little bit athletic, so sometimes take off,” Williams said. “[He] always talks about it, ‘take off, take off, take off.’ Extending plays is a part of football; the play doesn’t stop until the whistle is blown.”
The Irish wouldn’t go down peacefully, repeatedly matching the Trojans’ scoring drives but never coming within one score in the second half. It was an interception by sophomore safety Calen Bullock with 4:56 remaining in the game that sealed the deal.
Riley scripted the first USC offensive drive to perfection. The Trojans came out with trickery, running a fake reverse for 31 yards then a real reverse for 13 on the next play. It was Wiliams who finished off the drive, avoiding defenders like politics at Thanksgiving dinner and finding redshirt junior receiver Tahj Washington, who forced his way into the end zone.
The momentum was palpable in the packed Coliseum; on Notre Dame’s ensuing first drive, a third-down tackle for loss by senior linebacker Shane Lee had the stadium bumping.
The USC defense picked up a key fourth-down stop early on in the second quarter, when it stuffed Notre Dame redshirt sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne inches short of the chains.
A slow tempo and committed run game fueled a methodical Notre Dame offense — but the yards just weren’t coming in the early going. The Irish rushed for 2.5 yards per carry in the first half.
Instead, it was Pyne who showed up out of the gate. He was a perfect 8-of-8 passing with 106 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and he didn’t stop there. Pyne didn’t throw his first incomplete pass until the beginning of the fourth quarter. He finished 23-for-26 with 318 yards and three touchdowns.
Junior tight end Michael Mayer kept up this season’s trend of tight ends slicing open the USC defense like a Thanksgiving turkey. Midway through the second quarter, he elevated his 6-foot-4 frame to grab a 22-yard touchdown pass and put Notre Dame on the board.
Mayer kept eating in the second half, totaling 98 yards on eight receptions with two touchdowns.
USC’s defense has taken its fair share of criticism throughout the season. But, it held its own against the Irish, forcing two turnovers and holding a proficient rushing attack to just 90 yards.
“I honestly got sick and tired of hearing how we were just gonna get pounded in the run game,” Riley said. “That didn’t happen.”
The takeaways have just kept coming for the Trojans this season, putting their turnover margin at plus-22 on the season, the top mark in a single season in FBS since 2018.
“[The doubters] tried to make it seem like it’s lucky,” sophomore linebacker Eric Gentry said. “We’re not really worried about the outside [opinions]. We’re worried about what we got going on.”
When the defense let up, it was the offense which buoyed the team.
“The time is right now,” Williams said. “We’ve got a bunch of leaders on this team, and one of the things that we talked about when we first got here is [that] great teams; their players lead.”
Senior running back Austin Jones continued to avenge his teammate Travis Dye’s season-ending injury. The Stanford transfer was hotter than an apple pie fresh out of the oven, torching the Irish for a career-high 154 yards on 25 carries.
“I had to step up,” Jones said. “[Travis] is a great player, he did great things at the beginning of the season. I just have to add on to what he’s been doing.”
The win closes out the regular season of a magical first year under Riley, including a pair of rivalry wins the last two weeks. Last season’s 4-8 record seems a far cry from the product on display this year.
“I’ve stood right by what I told you our expectations were from day one,” Riley said. “A lot of people thought I was crazy, that’s fine. People within the walls knew what we were about and had a sense of what we were building. It’s been a fun run.”
The Trojans now await the result of the Washington vs. Washington State game to see whether they will face Oregon or Utah in the Pac-12 Championship game on December 2 in Las Vegas.
Riley’s words before the game summed up the collective mood around the USC program regarding its success.
“It’s not a vision anymore, enjoy it.”