With a stellar performance in Week 0, Caleb Williams vows to seek "immortality" with a championship title ahead of his NFL entry
Heisman winner Caleb Williams proved his mettle on a 56-28 victory of the Trojans over the Spartans. Caleb's true ability was on display for everyone in the second quarter when he salvaged a miracle from what could have been a disaster.
Confronted with the blitz, Williams let the ball slip from his hand for a fumble, just to quickly recover it and improvise the rest of the play throwing the longest pass of his career for 76 yards.
The effort was converted by Tahj Washington into a passing TD. Freshman WR Zachariah Branch would also convert a career-first TD in this game, on a 25-yard reception and a second one in a 96-yard kick return.
Caleb Williams expectations
Williams had an amazing game, going 18-25 for 278 yards with four TDs. At times his ability and athleticism were on full display, showing why he's last year's Heisman winner. He made a mock of defenders at times, running away from their efforts to sack him and making split-second decisions when under pressure.
Nonetheless, Williams knows that his legacy won't be complete until he wins a title of some kind. A few days ago he declared:
“Immortality comes from championships,” Williams said. “I haven’t reached one here in college yet.”
He has had the opportunity stolen from under him in the past, with his time at the University of Oklahoma failing to yield a Big 12 title as it had the six previous years for the Sooners. More recently, he was far closer when an unexpected injury shattered his and Trojan's dreams.
At last year's Pac-12 championship game, he pulled his hamstring in the first quarter of the game. Utah would go on to win and the Trojans and Caleb Williams were not only robbed of the Pac-12, but of the playoff berth they had been working towards.
Trojan weaknesses
Truth be told despite the extraordinary output by Caleb Williams, yesterday's game was far closer than the final score and stats would suggest. At halftime, San Jose State was only down by one score and had been playing with determination. The upset seemed between reach. The Spartans QB, Chevan Cordeiro, had a respectable 198 yards with three TDs.
It was in the running game that USC looked especially frail at times, with San Jose State dominating the ground game with 198 yards versus the Trojans 160. The bulk of those came from RB Quali Conley with 108 in six carries.
The Spartan's offensive line at times exposed important weaknesses in the Trojan defensive line, opening holes through which their running game could flourish. If Caleb Williams and USC expect to make a playoff appearance, these mistakes need to be corrected.