This season just got a lot more difficult at USC, which also means it became a lot more interesting. It’s unfortunate that Fresno State lost quarterback Jake Haener early in the third quarter on Saturday night, because if he had played 60 full minutes, this might have been a close game heading into the final 10 minutes. As it was, USC — despite winning by 28 points — was still challenged a lot more than it was in previous weeks.
Fresno State was a lot more physical than Stanford. Jeff Tedford had his team prepared to play this game. His players fought hard. The Haener injury was a cruel blow, and mistakes made in the first half — such as a dropped third-down pass on the team’s first drive — took away Fresno State’s margin for error. The Bulldogs, like any USC opponent, simply can’t give away possessions against Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley’s offense. They did … and the Trojans made them pay.
Still, we began to see a tougher USC offense which didn’t flow seamlessly or glide across the field. This was rough sledding. The Trojans needed to convert three separate fourth downs in the game’s first 21 minutes to score three touchdowns. Fresno State made USC work for points. It sets up a fascinating Week 4 in Corvallis against Oregon State. We’ll obviously have much more on this huge game as the week develops, but let’s set the table with one basic observation:
The challenge for Lincoln Riley in his play sequencing and selection got a lot more interesting and detailed this week.
USC’s offensive line situation took a turn for the worse in Week 3. Courtland Ford did not play, so Bobby Haskins needed to handle the full workload. He got hurt twice — not severely, but enough to make him go to the injury tent after his second particularly painful episode in the fourth quarter. If Haskins does play against Oregon State, he won’t be 100-percent healthy. That’s an obvious point of concern.
Yes, Courtland Ford should play against OSU. He dressed for the Fresno State game, but the coaches held him out due to an abundance of caution. Mason Murphy did not look good when he briefly filled in for Haskins against Fresno State. We saw the backside pressure on Caleb Williams from the left tackle spot. Williams was clearly mindful of pressure. He didn’t make good adjustments and responses to that pressure.
All of this influences how Lincoln Riley might need to call plays if he doesn’t have a healthy and good left tackle, whether that is against Oregon State or anyone else on the slate.
Remember: Play calling is not simply about using players or attacking a defense. It’s also attached to the capacity of roster, which players are healthy, and what the team needs in a given situation.
Because of Fresno State’s pass rush, Riley needed to use Caleb Williams as a run threat for the first time this season. You saw the read option plays in the second half, in which Caleb kept the ball so that the defense couldn’t crash down on the running back. Caleb’s keeper set up the TD run by Travis Dye.
It’s not just about powering the ball down an opponent’s throat; it’s about doing things — QB keepers, quick screens, hitch passes — to keep the defense honest and uncertain, THEN hammering the ball between the tackles in a sequential fashion. We saw Riley use Caleb Williams in new ways — not relative to his Oklahoma days last year, but within the USC offense in 2022. Oregon State now has a lot more to study on film. Riley will use that to create variations for the Beavers heading into Week 4.
There’s a lot more to say about all of this, but you get the point: The chess match is becoming a lot more detailed and complicated for Lincoln Riley, and he’s aware of that, heading into a huge season-shaping game for the Trojans against Oregon State.
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