Tag: Caleb Williams Heisman

Caleb Williams becomes USC’s first Maxwell Award winner since Marcus Allen in 1981

Marcus Allen won the #Heisman in 1981, in case you’re wondering what this likely means for Caleb Williams, 41 years later. #USC

The Thursday before the Heisman Trophy ceremony is a night for college football’s various end-of-season awards: Outland, Bednarik, Biletnikoff, Rimington, Davey O’Brien, Nagurski, and all the rest. Caleb Williams of USC didn’t win everything on Thursday — TCU quarterback Max Duggan won the Davey O’Brien Award for best quarterback, which should not cause too much concern about the Heisman Trophy.

Keep in mind that Davey O’Brien went to TCU. He was TCU’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 1938. The chance to give the Davey O’Brien Award to a TCU player was too good to pass up. It was and is a lovely gesture and a real feel-good moment for Duggan, a chance to give him a piece of hardware and make sure he didn’t get shut out.

If Duggan did not get the O’Brien, he wouldn’t have won the Maxwell or Walter Camp Awards.

Caleb Williams — already the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and a Pac-12 First-Team All-American — earned the Maxwell and Camp Awards on a night when he added to his collection of hardware.

The Heisman is next.

Williams’ capture of the Maxwell Award makes him USC’s first Maxwell winner since Marcus Allen in 1981.

You might be wondering: Didn’t USC have three subsequent Heisman winners? Yes. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush did not win the Maxwell in their Heisman seasons. Larry Johnson beat Palmer in 2002. Jason White won the Maxwell over Leinart in 2004. Vince Young won in 2005.

Caleb Williams snapped USC’s 41-year Maxwell Award drought.

Now, all eyes turn to Saturday night for the big one at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York.

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Comparing Caleb Williams in 2022 to Oregon Heisman winner Marcus Mariota in 2014

Caleb Williams could become the first #Pac12 #Heisman winner since #Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. We talked to @ZacharyCNeel of @Ducks_Wire for perspective.

Caleb Williams is poised to make history for the Pac-12 Conference. He is likely to become the first Pac-12 Heisman Trophy winner since Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2014. Mariota did one thing Caleb Williams did not: Lead his team to the College Football Playoff. However, Mariota faced a weak Arizona team in the Pac-12 Championship Game, whereas USC faced a much stronger Utah team.

Caleb Williams also got hurt in USC’s Pac-12 Championship Game.

What we can all agree on is that Mariota and Caleb were spectacular in their foremost Pac-12 seasons. Caleb gets another year in 2023, but his 2022 season set a high standard. How does Caleb Williams compare to Marcus Mariota?

We talked to Ducks Wire editor Zachary Neel.

Here’s our Heisman conversation below:

Reggie Bush: USC Heisman Trophy profile

Reggie Bush’s #Heisman was officially vacated, but we will never forget his 2005 season. No one can take away the memory of hearing his name called. That’s eternal.

Reggie Bush was stripped of his Heisman Trophy, a fact everyone knows, but the whole notion of a stripped or vacated award is the dumbest punishment in sports. Imagine stripping the Houston Astros of their World Series title for cheating. That wouldn’t change the fact that the Astros celebrated in 2017 and the Los Angeles Dodgers walked off the field in Game 7 sad and heartbroken that they didn’t win.

A real punishment for the Astros would have been to suspend Jose Altuve a full season without pay. That would have actually affected (hurt) the Astros’ ability to win a championship.

That point aside, what happened to Reggie Bush and his Heisman would not be an NCAA violation today, in the world of NIL. Bush would have been able to cash in on the opportunity to play college sports. As with the other things USC was punished for at the end of the Pete Carroll era, those violations look like such small potatoes today, in a larger context. It’s just one reason why Bush deserves his 2005 Heisman Trophy back.

Saturday, Caleb Williams should become USC’s first Heisman winner since Bush. The official record books say that USC has only six Heisman winners, but we know Bush celebrated winning the award 17 years ago. If you want to be technical and precise about it, fine: USC doesn’t have seven Heisman winners according to the official record book, but it does have seven men who have heard their name called as Heisman winners on Heisman Night. It has seven men who have posed with the Heisman Trophy after being declared the winner.

Saturday, Caleb Williams will make it eight, more than any other school.

Let’s look back at Reggie Bush’s 2005 season and his football playing career:

Matt Leinart: USC Heisman Trophy profile

With Caleb Williams heading to New York as a favorite to win the #Heisman, let’s examine the portfolio of #USC great Matt Leinart.

You can say that Matt Leinart had it all at USC: He had the defense, he had Reggie Bush, he had Dwayne Jarrett, he had Steve Smith, he had LenDale White, he had Pete Carroll.

That’s the point.

USC was a complete team with Leinart being a very big part of it. Sure, Leinart had help, but his presence at quarterback made the whole thing work. No Leinart, no 34-game winning streak. No Leinart, no back-to-back nationalk championships and a great Rose Bowl performance which easily could have given USC a third straight title, had it not been for Vince Young putting on his Superman cape to rescue the Texas Longhorns.

Leinart’s value to USC emerged the year after he left. John David Booty wasn’t a bad quarterback … but he wasn’t Matt Leinart. USC fell short of the national championship game.

Leinart, who grew up in the 2003 Auburn win and just kept getting better from that point onward, grew into his position at USC and worked hard to gain everything he had.

Yes, he had it all … and he worked to get to that point. That’s the key detail to absorb as we reflect on Leinart’s Heisman Trophy-winning career during “USC Heisman Week.” We celebrate past Trojan Heisman winners before Caleb Williams becomes Heisman winner No. 8 on Saturday evening in New York.

Enjoy this retrospective on Matt Leinart’s shimmering, sparkling USC journey:

Carson Palmer: USC Heisman Trophy profile

Carson Palmer was a joy to watch. His spectacular career for #USC culminated with a #Heisman Trophy victory.

With Caleb Williams being a near-lock to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, it is worth noting the USC Heisman winner whose season most closely parallels Williams’ journey: Carson Palmer.

If you think about it, the 2022 and 2002 USC seasons have a lot in common. We noted this in our November coverage of the Trojans.

You could see this coming, too: As soon as USC beat Arizona on Oct. 29, the Trojans knew they would stay home for the full month of November. If they won every game in Los Angeles, they would play for the Pac-12 title.

Caleb Williams would be a Heisman finalist with a chance to win the award.

USC did win every game it played in Los Angeles. Caleb Williams played brilliantly against Notre Dame in prime time on national television. USC went to a big bowl game. The Trojans restored the program after years of drift.

Carson Palmer, in Pete Carroll’s restorative 2002 season which launched the USC dynasty, smoked the Fighting Irish in L.A. in prime time to seal his Heisman 20 years ago.

Palmer in 2002. Caleb in 2022. The parallels are there.

Let’s look back at Carson Palmer’s USC Heisman story and his Trojan career:

Caleb Williams is named a Heisman Trophy finalist; will go to New York this Saturday, Dec. 10

The 2022 #HeismanTrophy Ceremony is Saturday, Dec. 10, at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. 8 Eastern, 5 Pacific, on ESPN. #USC #Heisman

It is Heisman Trophy Week, and it’s always an especially big week for the players who are selected to attend the Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York. It’s also a big week for the schools those players represent.

The University of Southern California is likely to welcome its eighth Heisman Trophy winner to the Heisman fraternity on Saturday, Dec. 10. Quarterback Caleb Williams is the clear favorite to win the award. He would join seven previous Heisman Trophy winners at USC. He would also be a Heisman winner as a sophomore, with at least one more year to make a run at the trophy. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young won the 2021 Heisman and came back this year, trying to become just the second man to win back-to-back Heismans. The only man to ever do it: Archie Griffin of Ohio State in 1974 and 1975.

Let’s tell you about Caleb Williams and the men who will join him at the Heisman ceremony, plus a few notable snubs for the award presentation:

Caleb Williams delivers electric plays early, blood and guts late, seals Heisman Trophy despite loss

Caleb Williams in the 1st quarter: circus-like plays. Caleb Williams in the 4th quarter: heart of a warrior. His team lost, but he definitely won the #Heisman for 2022. #USC

USC lost to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. It certainly wasn’t Caleb Williams’ fault.

With the Pac-12 getting the stage to itself on Friday night, one day before the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC play their conference championship games. all eyes were on Caleb Williams. How would he perform in this huge game, with USC one win away from the College Football Playoff?

Many times, a quarterback will play poorly and drag down his team’s performance. The quarterback is the reason his team lost.

That was not the case in this game. Williams played great in the first quarter. Then he got hurt while his offensive line struggled to protect him. He did not quit. He led a ballsy touchdown drive to keep his team in the game. He kept fighting like a true Trojan. He was fighting uphill at the end, but fight on he did.

No one could possibly watch this game and think Caleb Williams is less of a player, less of a Heisman candidate, and less likely to win this award. He reminded everyone why he will win the award.

Take a look at Caleb Williams’ Heisman moments and special plays, plus his injury and his blood-and-guts fourth quarter below:

Caleb Williams makes his case vs Notre Dame, becomes clear Heisman front-runner

In 2002, Carson Palmer nailed down the #Heisman by shining vs #NotreDame in prime time. 20 years later, Caleb Williams did the same thing. #USC

There is no argument now. Caleb Williams of USC is the overwhelming favorite to win the 2022 Heisman Trophy. He will play in the Pac-12 Championship Game next week. If he plays poorly, maybe this will become a conversation, but as long as he plays reasonably well in Las Vegas next Friday, this award will be his, and we don’t need to pretend otherwise.

Williams was sensational against Notre Dame on Saturday. He made great throws. He made dazzling runs. He sensed the pocket extremely well. Notre Dame has a legitimately good pass rush, and the Irish made some plays. Caleb Williams simply had the answers for what Notre Dame did, and for what the Irish tried to do. He was the difference in this game.

His performance here carries echoes of Carson Palmer, who nailed down the 2002 Heisman with a similarly brilliant performance against Notre Dame.

Let’s give you video highlights of Caleb’s many great plays, plus some stats and other reactions from USC’s 38-27 win over the Irish:

C.J. Stroud Heisman hopes take huge hit in Ohio State blowout loss to Michigan

Your move, Caleb Williams. C.J. Stroud and #OhioState fell short in their biggest game of the year. #USC #Heisman

Saturday put two college football players in the center of the Heisman Trophy spotlight: Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and USC’s Caleb Williams. Both men had the stage to themselves, several hours apart. Before Caleb Williams took the field for Saturday night’s game against Notre Dame, Stroud stepped onto the gridiron for Ohio State’s game against Michigan.

It did not go well for Stroud.

Ohio State lost to Michigan, and the Buckeyes did not look good. That was not the recipe Stroud wanted, but it’s what he and the Buckeyes will have to live with.

Michigan 45, Ohio State 23.

When Ohio State lost ground in the second half, Stroud had a chance to mount a comeback, but he couldn’t do it.

Our friends at Buckeyes Wire have complete coverage of Ohio State’s loss.

The results speak for themselves, but we have a few more things to say about the matter:

Caleb Williams vs C.J. Stroud: Heisman Trophy scenarios and plot points with Buckeyes Wire

.@BuckeyesWire editor @PhilHarrisonBW joins us to map out scenarios and offer a full assessment of what has become a 2-man #Heisman race.

USC and Ohio State are both central parts of this particular week in the college football world — mostly because of the College Football Playoff, substantially because they are both involved in big, classic rivalry games which will get national attention, but also because their players are the last two men standing in the 2022 Heisman Trophy race.

Hendon Hooker might have a slight outside shot, but realistically, it’s down to two men: USC’s Caleb Williams and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. Caleb plays Notre Dame this week and Stroud plays Michigan. We will likely have a much clearer idea of who will win the Heisman after this upcoming weekend.

Phil Harrison, the editor of Buckeyes Wire, is covering the Ohio State-Michigan game. He is also following C.J. Stroud’s Heisman campaign.

Phil joined us to discuss the current state of play in the Heisman race and assess some possible scenarios in the coming weeks: