After devastating years of college football, especially USC’s 4-8 season in 2021, despair lingered among many Trojan fans who packed the Coliseum. However, that changed when Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley announced that they would join the USC Trojans ahead of the 2022 season. Hope in the football program returned to USC, and the thought of the Trojans reaching national prominence became more realistic. The return to the Pete Carroll glory days seemed to be right around the corner so where did it all go wrong?
Well, USC started off strong in 2022, after finishing the regular season 11-1, with only a defeat to the Utah Utes. The Trojans were ranked as high as No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll. They then faced the Utes again in the Pac-12 Championship game, ultimately falling short 47-24 and failing to receive a spot in the College Football Playoff. Then-sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams shined and proved that he was a worthy quarterback as he totaled 4,537 passing yards and 52 total touchdowns on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. Despite this newfound success in Trojan football, there were obvious improvements needed in the defense if the Trojans had any chance in the 2023 season.
This season, the Trojans looked the same, as they blew out teams such as San Jose State, Nevada and Stanford early on. After that, the Trojans needed to be more consistent. In its next three games, USC beat Arizona State 42-28, Colorado 48-41 and Arizona 43-41. That led to its first loss against Notre Dame 48-20, another against Utah 34-32, and barely scraping by against the Cal Golden Bears 50-49. Williams is shining once again and continues to produce the numbers that the Trojans expected him to; however, their unprepared defense meanswinning by close margins or losing entirely. Therefore, our expectations that the Riley era would bring USC football back to its roots: winning Pac-12 Championships, national championships and Rose Bowls may need to be reevaluated. While Riley has a solid quarterback in Williams, the defense needs profound changes and adjustments if the Trojans ever have a chance at heading to the Playoff.
Currently, Williams has 2,646 yards, 25 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns. However, the defense finished 93rd in scoring defense (29.2 points) and 124th in yards per play allowed (6.53) last season. This season, USC allows 32.8 points per game (113th) and 5.90 yards per play (95th). The Trojans will need significant changes in their defensive strategy to finish the rest of the season, and for next season, they need to meet the expectations that fans had when Riley took over the program. The Trojans’ matchup against the 8-0 Washington looks more frightening after the last few games USC has played. If USC doesn’t make major changes, Washington may cause a severe blow to the Trojans’ season. The expectations of the Riley and Williams era that we all thought didn’t seem unreachable. Perhaps the era needs more time to adapt to bring USC back to a championship and less pressure on the quarterback so that the Trojans can flourish in the next game and in the future.