Caleb Williams and USC catch a wave and ride it to a comeback win over UCLA
UCLA #UCLA
PASADENA, Calif. – By the time the smoke had cleared from the pregame fireworks show and the sun had set past the mountains that loom over the Rose Bowl, the USC Trojans knew to brace for a long, tense and topsy-turvy evening.
Earlier Saturday, Ohio State held off Maryland, Michigan eked past Illinois with a fourth-quarter comeback and TCU escaped Baylor with a game-winning field goal. Three College Football Playoff hopefuls had flirted with disaster, and a fourth — Tennessee — was vanquished in blowout fashion by unranked South Carolina. Now, the nightcap called for Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams and UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson to face off in a quintessential Pac-12 shootout.
Kickers save TCU and Michigan (college football winners and losers)
Both quarterbacks delivered, combining for more than 900 total yards and nine touchdowns in front of a sellout crowd of 70,865. But it was Williams who, after digging out of a 14-0 hole and leading a dramatic 48-45 win, capped off a victory lap around the field by climbing a ladder and triumphantly wielding a long sword as “Fight On!” chants rained down from the Trojan faithful.
“An iconic type game,” said USC Coach Lincoln Riley, who won his first matchup against his new crosstown rivals. “It lived up to the billing. We tried to prepare our team for what a rivalry game looks and feels like. There’s going to be tons of emotion in it and momentum swings. You’ve got to be able to ride the wave.”
With the win, USC improved to 10-1, secured a spot in the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 2 in Las Vegas and put itself in position to move up a spot to No. 6 in the CFP rankings. UCLA fell to 8-3.
Williams (Gonzaga High), a D.C. native who followed Riley from Oklahoma to USC last summer, finished with 470 yards on 32-43 passing and two touchdowns. The standout sophomore added 50 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.
“I went into this game expecting it to be a dogfight,” Williams said. “You’re going to have to do your job, and do it at a high level. And keep fighting, keep swinging.”
Svrluga: At Virginia, a football team and its coach confront the unimaginable
By outlasting Thompson-Robinson and overcoming an unsteady start to lead a near-unstoppable second-half attack, Williams bolstered his Heisman Trophy case in advance of next week’s showdown against Notre Dame. The Heisman field got a shake-up Saturday, as Michigan running back Blake Corum suffered a left knee injury against Illinois and Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker lost for the second time in three weeks.
“You don’t focus on [the Heisman],” Riley said. “You’re just trying to win each week for your team. Those are the guys that find a way to do it. [Williams] has been one of the best players in the country this year. He’s played really well. If any of those things come to fruition, that’s great. Those are byproducts. That’s not why he’s here.”
What eventually became a signature night began in auspicious fashion for Williams, who was stonewalled on fourth-and-short on USC’s first drive and picked off by UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano late in the first quarter.
The Bruins wasted little time capitalizing on Williams’s third interception of the season. Thompson-Robinson rolled out to his left before connecting with tight end Michael Ezeike down the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown, leaving USC’s defense dazed and confused by the misdirection.
Thompson-Robinson had set the stage for this fierce affair when he said earlier this week that the Bruins “hate those guys across town.” Until midway through the second quarter, the fifth-year senior seemed intent on steamrolling USC, scoring on a one-yard keeper on UCLA’s second possession and scoring on another short run midway through the second quarter for a 21-10 lead. Thompson-Robinson, now UCLA’s all-time career touchdown leader, celebrated his second score by spinning the ball in the end zone and staring down USC’s band.
But Thompson-Robinson’s control wavered late in the second quarter, as he tossed a pair of head-scratching interceptions to help USC close the gap to 21-20 at halftime. UCLA Coach Chip Kelly did USC one final favor before the break, calling timeout just before Trojan kicker Denis Lynch came up well short on a 49-yard attempt. Given another chance, Lynch, who had already missed two field goal attempts in the first half, connected on a new career-long.
“I shouldn’t have tried to ice the kicker,” Kelly said on his way off the field. “That’s on me.”
Though those crucial three points helped provide the winning margin, they were mostly forgotten in a blur of a fourth quarter. Williams and Thompson-Robinson traded long drive after long drive, scoring so quickly at times that it was difficult to keep up.
Williams found wide receiver Kyle Ford on a fade for a 16-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then, Williams guided a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Darvin Barlow touchdown run, only for Thompson-Robinson to respond by capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a three-yard pass to Ezeike to cut USC’s lead to three.
Thompson-Robinson finished with 309 yards on 23-38 passing, 91 rushing yards and six total touchdowns, an effort made even more impressive by the fact that he got banged up and needed to wear a protective wrap on his throwing hand.
Though USC and UCLA combined for 28 points in the explosive fourth quarter alone, the endgame was settled by a pair of rare defensive stops. With a little under three minutes remaining, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu sacked Williams for a 11-yard loss near midfield, forcing USC to punt.
On the Bruins’ final drive, Thompson-Robinson squeezes a third-down completion to Jake Bobo for 27 yards, and he seemed poised to tie the game or pull off a dramatic upset on senior night. Instead, USC linebacker Korey Foreman stepped in front of a pass near midfield for a game-sealing interception. Foreman, a highly-regarded high school recruit who had played sparingly this season, embraced Riley during the emotional postgame celebration.
“It was really cool for him,” Riley said. “You just never know when it’s going to be your moment. He was ready. He dropped back and made a great play on the ball. It wasn’t an easy play. It’s a great example of not worrying about expectations. Just keep working and good things happen.”