Caleb Williams comes to life when it matters most for USC

Much like Bryce Young of Alabama vs Auburn last year and Texas this year, Caleb Williams rescued a mostly forgettable game with a late clutch drive

That was as close as it could get.

The Oregon State Beavers gave the USC Trojans everything they had on a wild night in Corvallis. Yet, somehow, Lincoln Riley’s group escaped with a gritty 17-14 victory in stunning fashion.

Through three-plus quarters, the USC offense was essentially the Travis Dye Show. Caleb Williams struggled all night as the Beavers defense came to play in a highly-anticipated battle of undefeated teams on another edition of Pac-12 After Dark.

With less than eight minutes to play, Williams’ numbers were concerning: He was 11-of-27 for 123 yards and no scores.

The Beavers then took the lead on a Jam Griffin touchdown with less than six minutes to play, and Williams threw everything else out the window to engineer a masterful drive.

He turned it around and completed five passes, including a beautiful 21-yard strike to Jordan Addison for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:13 left in regulation. Athletes have to have short memories. No matter how many bad things happen in a game, there is always the next play. Caleb Williams wiped away 58 and a half minutes of subpar football with a clutch late strike inside the final 90 seconds. Teammates saw the struggles for most of the night, but they’ll remember the crunch-time response more than anything else:

That was the answer USC needed, and that’s precisely why Riley wanted Williams to join him in LA.

With everything on the line, even after a poor night, he shrugged it off and delivered a beautiful drive that began at USC’s own 16-yard line.

His final stats were severely underwhelming: 16-36, 180 yards and a score. But, the Trojans escaped Corvallis with the win, and Williams put the team on his shoulders when it mattered most.

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