Tag: USC UCLA

USC and Lincoln Riley are humiliated by UCLA — will it create necessary changes?

Getting crushed by UCLA is bad. What would be worse is if Lincoln Riley doesn’t change methods and learn key lessons.

What a magnificent disaster it was for the USC Trojans in their regular-season finale against the UCLA Bruins. In what will likely be Caleb Williams’ last game as a Trojan and a college football player, USC showed no heart, no fight, no backbone and no toughness in a tissue-soft blowout loss to UCLA.

The Trojans bent the knee. They meekly submitted to UCLA’s physicality, aggression and toughness.

Time after time in this game, a UCLA player — it didn’t matter who — won a one-on-one matchup. Whether it was a lineman against another lineman, or a defensive back against a USC receiver, or a USC linebacker against a UCLA ball carrier, or a USC defensive back against a UCLA pass catcher, the Bruin won the battle. The Trojan lost the battle.

A full game of these accumulated one-on-one losses led to a decisive UCLA conquest of USC, sending the Trojans to a 7-5 record and an offseason filled with questions.

There is no shortage of talking points after a loss such as this one. Let’s deal with some of the fallout and some of the tough conversations Lincoln Riley needs to have. We will obviously have a lot more to say about this in the coming days … and weeks … and months, until the 2024 season opener.

Let’s examine this mess instead of ignoring it:

Korey Foreman offers a story of inspiration and dedication at USC

#FightOn is real. Korey Foreman fought on, as did Alex Grinch. They created one of the signature moments of #USC’s 2022 season. There’s a lesson here.

Just as we all predicted, Korey Foreman made the defining, deciding play of USC’s victory over UCLA this past weekend.

No one needs to tell USC fans how improbable that outcome is or was. USC fans have been begging and pleading for something, anything, to happen from Foreman this season. No one expected that moment to come, and most of all not in a 48-45 shootout versus UCLA, a game with barely any punts and with very few defensive stops in the second half.

It did happen, however. It’s now a part of USC’s story and this season’s journey. What do we make of this? What perspectives are worth amplifying in the aftermath of Foreman’s remarkable play?

Let’s talk:

UCLA’s bitter failure magnifies USC’s immediate success

USC-UCLA was a close game. The margins were small, but the consequences of winning and losing were large. There are lessons here.

All of our USC-UCLA coverage on Sunday focused on the Trojans, so it’s clear we’re not primarily focused on UCLA’s failure. Celebrating USC’s success is and should be the focus here, and moreover, it has been. That is unmistakable.

However: We can’t completely allow this moment to pass by and not reflect at least once — in one piece — about UCLA’s failure. There are lessons to be found here. There is a worthwhile perspective to be shared. So, let’s share it.

The fundamental thesis to advance on this Monday morning, as we wrap up UCLA and make the transition to Notre Dame week and other subjects, is that UCLA’s failure and USC’s success magnify each other. We’ll explain below:

USC Football Report Card: Handing out grades to the Trojans after UCLA conquest

The biggest grade of all: #USC got an “A” for this very big “W” over UCLA. That was the assignment. The Trojans completed their homework.

That was quite a night.

If you had been following USC and UCLA all season long, you knew this was going to be a shootout.

You might have predicted a 48-45 final score. I personally had 52-42 USC if Eric Gentry had been able to play effectively and with force. He briefly played, but clearly was not fit enough to play a lot of snaps. If Gentry wasn’t able to play, I labeled this game as a coin flip, with one team winning 50-49 on a 2-point conversion.

Yet, even though we all knew this would be a video game, it was still thrilling and very entertaining to see it all play out if you were a neutral party.

If you were a USC fan, it was a roller-coaster of stress, anxiety, and ultimately, elation.

Let’s grade the Trojans on their performance:

With Travis Dye injured, Jordan Addison returned to full strength just in time for USC

The Travis Dye and Eric Gentry injuries hurt #USC a lot vs UCLA, but Jordan Addison regaining full health compensated. It was just enough to win.

USC came into the UCLA game knowing Travis Dye would not play. To be sure, Austin Jones needed to play well, and he definitely did, rushing for over 100 yards and cracking the end zone. However, we all know where USC’s bread is most centrally buttered: in the passing game with Caleb Williams throwing the rock.

Williams threw for 470 yards and completed 74.4 percent of his passes against UCLA. The Trojans amassed over 640 yards. The central engine of their offense is Williams, and when that engine is roaring, we all know who the big dog is for the Trojans on the receiving end of Caleb’s aerials:

the man who was injured the past few weeks and needed the Arizona-Cal-Colorado soft schedule to quietly recuperate and gear up for UCLA.

It’s an interesting and important plot twist for USC: We wondered if Eric Gentry would be a factor against the Bruins. We knew the Travis Dye injury would limit USC. Gentry seemed to be the compensatory piece USC needed to get healthy for this game.

No.

Jordan Addison getting back to full strength was enough — albeit barely — to win the day for the Trojans on a night when Gentry wasn’t anywhere close to full health.

Here’s more on Addison’s night plus a lot of other USC stories in this Trojan notebook on the UCLA game:

Beating UCLA unleashed intense USC emotions for Korey Foreman and Bobby Haskins

Korey Foreman and Bobby Haskins felt the weight of the moment in a very powerful way. Other #USC players joined them after beating UCLA.

One of the best feelings in life is to wake up the morning after an ultimate victory by one of your sports teams. It’s the exact opposite of waking up to a crushing defeat in a huge game, like the Utah game on Oct. 15.

Man, this had to feel good for USC players, who celebrated deep into Saturday night after their 48-45 win over the UCLA Bruins. They will wake up Sunday morning and will instantly realize that, yes, it’s real. It’s not a dream.

It’s the actual condition of their world and their 2022 season. They really did it.

USC players get to bask in the glow of beating UCLA. Notre Dame can wait until Monday.

Sunday is a 24-hour “appreciate and savor what you have done before the next big test comes along” zone.

No two USC players felt the weight of the moment more than Korey Foreman and Bobby Haskins.

Foreman, injured and unable to live up to his recruiting ranking and the hype which greeted his arrival at USC for nearly two whole seasons, produced a career-changing play which not only made his season, but validated his own perseverance. It was a classic “Fight On!” moment for “Agent Zero.”

Haskins has spent the past week grieving after the unfathomable tragedy which shook his former school, the University of Virginia. He knew the men who died in that shooting. A piece of Haskins’ heart was shredded and left behind in Charlottesville, though Haskins was in Los Angeles to prepare for this game, in which he played brilliantly.

Let’s take you through the powerful emotions and images of the UCLA postgame scene for various USC players, plus head coach Lincoln Riley:

2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Down to two men, and Lincoln Riley is one of them

It can be only one of two men for #Pac12 Coach of the Year: Washington’s Kalen DeBoer or #USC’s Lincoln Riley. Let’s evaluate:

We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving. That means the college football regular season is almost over. That means it’s the time of year to discuss college football awards for the season.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams is centrally involved in the Heisman Trophy race. USC’s defensive line coach, Shaun Nua, is a Broyles Award semifinalist. USC defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu is a prime contender for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. USC is well-represented in various awards races.

One other award in which the Trojans have a prime candidate: 2022 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Let’s look at where Lincoln Riley stands in the larger race:

PHOTOS: USC clinches Pac-12 Championship Game berth with win over UCLA

The double-home uniforms in #USC – #UCLA make this the most aesthetically gorgeous rivalry in football. Drink in the sights from USC’s win.

There you have it.

In Lincoln Riley’s first game against UCLA as the Trojans’ head coach, USC earned a thrilling victory.

A 14-0 first-quarter UCLA lead evaporated quickly as USC scored 20 in the second quarter and used another masterful performance from Caleb Williams. The star quarterback threw for 470 yards and a pair of touchdowns, outdueling Dorian Thompson-Robinson (309 yards and six total touchdowns).

Austin Jones stepped in and took the place of injured RB Travis Dye, and the Stanford transfer had 120 yards on 21 carries with two trips to the end zone of his own. It was an electric night in Los Angeles, and the Victory Bell belongs to USC.

Here are some of the best photos from the contest.

Quotes from Lincoln Riley and USC players after win over UCLA

#USC players who were part of last year’s 4-8 team talked about a ‘revenge tour’ this year. The 62-33 loss to UCLA has been avenged.

This was a game worth talking about for all the obvious reasons.

It was an entertaining thriller. It was the Battle for Los Angeles. It was a duel for a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game. It was a contest with College Football Playoff, Heisman Trophy, and New Year’s Six bowl ramifications.

It was a game in which USC trailed by 14 and came back to win, flipping the script from the Utah game in which the Trojans led by 14 and lost.

It is definitely a game worth talking about … so here are quotes from Lincoln Riley and USC players after the 48-45 triumph over UCLA:

Caleb Williams takes significant step toward 2022 Heisman Trophy in win over UCLA

Caleb Williams played great. Hendon Hooker and Drake Maye had rough nights. It might be down to Caleb and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud now.

Winning the Heisman Trophy is sometimes a product of one player simply transcending everyone and everything else. Cam Newton in 2010 at Auburn or Joe Burrow in 2019 at LSU are examples of players who had phenomenal, historically remarkable seasons no one else could touch. Players who finished behind those two might have had great seasons which — in other years — would have been enough to take home the Heisman.

In 2010 and 2019, they had no chance.

Newton and Burrow lapped the field in those seasons, to provide two clear examples of Heisman winner who simply ran away with the award.

This is not one of those years. There are a lot of great players, but there is no “God Mode” player who simply takes off and leaves everyone else in the dust. Winning the Heisman this year is naturally a product of individual quality and performance, but it also depends on how one’s competitors perform.

Caleb Williams got the right mix in Week 12.

Let’s break down his Heisman chances, which soared heading into the Notre Dame game.