After this long nightmare of a season for the Oklahoma Sooners, looking at my phone after work on Friday night was an almost therapeutic experience. The Utah Utes were leading Lincoln Riley’s USC Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship.
Kyle Whittingham’s Utes just beat up USC in the second half, leaving no room for doubt in what ended up being a 47-24 win to claim their second straight Pac-12 title.
Everyone knew what was at stake for USC going into their second matchup with Utah. With one loss already on their record, the Trojans needed to win the Pac-12 Championship to get into the playoff. With the No. 4 ranking already in hand, it was a win-and-get-in situation.
After going into halftime trailing, Utah pulled away in the second half with a physically dominant performance. USC was simply outmatched.
Caleb Williams, as great as he is, couldn’t drag USC to a win in this game. When his offensive line started getting banged up, the floodgates opened. Williams was clearly banged up by the end of this game after being sacked four times.
He will still probably win the Heisman.
Then there’s Lincoln Riley.
The USC team that suited up this season was basically the 2017-2021 Sooners in cardinal and gold instead of crimson and cream. It’s downright bizarre how much this year’s Trojan team looked like the Sooners of the past. And those in Los Angeles are taking note.
Let’s take a look at what Bill Plaschke of the LA Times had to say about this game.
This Pac-12 championship game Friday night at Allegiant Stadium was supposed to be a coronation for the No. 4-ranked Trojans, the stunningly brilliant debut season for coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams scheduled to culminate in the team’s first conference title in five years and its first College Football Playoff berth.
Then Williams suffered a first-quarter hamstring injury. And Riley suffered several second-quarter brain cramps. And the Trojans eventually lost their resilience against a relentless Utah team that rebounded from a 17-3 deficit to run over tacklers, rush past linemen and eventually crush the Trojans’ hopes with the brutality of an angry craps table.
USC went bust. And now, instead of competing for a national championship in the CFP final four, the Trojans must settle for the consolation prize of a secondary New Year’s Six bowl. They were the best Pac-12 team during the regular season and yet they don’t even get to play in the Rose Bowl, that honor going to Utah for a second straight year. – Bill Plaschke, L.A. Times
Is USC the Kansas State of the west? The people need to know.
Kyle Whittingham’s unit is just made from a different cloth than Lincoln Riley’s. Whittingham and the Utes aren’t going anywhere. The Trojans will have to deal with Utah for another year before they make their jump to the Big Ten.
Seeing the Trojans lose games the exact same way Oklahoma did under Riley is quite interesting. There are several programs in the Big Ten that put themselves together like Utah. Is this going to work for USC?
Thankfully, Sooners fans were spared watching USC earn a College Football Playoff berth in year one of the Lincoln Riley era. Now, the fans can focus on what Brent Venables is trying to build here in Norman.
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