From start to finish, the USC and Oklahoma football seasons of 2023 went in different directions. Both seasons have officially ended after OU lost to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
For more coverage of that game, visit our partners at Sooners Wire.
USC started quickly out of the gate, looking strong in early-season blowouts. In retrospect, those easy wins over Nevada and Stanford didn’t tell us much about the Trojans, but at the time, the clean and unbothered nature of those wins — with Caleb Williams dazzling everyone — pointed to a big year for the Men of Troy.
Oklahoma didn’t start its season all that brilliantly. OU scored just 28 points against SMU on September 9 and only 20 versus Cincinnati on September 23. The grumbling about offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby (who has since taken the head coaching job at Mississippi State) began back then.
After USC had the better start, Oklahoma became the far better team in October and November. When USC struggled early in October — setting the stage for its midseason collapse — Oklahoma gained strength by beating Texas and handing the Longhorns their only loss of the regular season. Oklahoma finished 10-2 — not a perfect season, but a very good one which marked real progress under second-year coach Brent Venables.
USC, meanwhile, imploded under Alex Grinch. One bad defensive performance after another led to Grinch’s dismissal right after the 52-42 loss to Washington on November 4. The Trojans limped to the finish line and figured to offer nothing of value in their bowl game.
That’s when these seasons produced a final pair of plot twists.
USC’s bowl game was surprisingly great, a Holiday Bowl win over Louisville featuring the Miller Moss breakout game which has seemingly established Moss as the starter for opening day in 2024 against LSU.
Oklahoma’s bowl game was a disappointment, a loss to Arizona after the Sooners grabbed an 11-point lead (24-13) in the third quarter. It’s true that OU had several key opt-outs, especially including former quarterback Dillon Gabriel (who transferred to Oregon), but even then, the Sooners have to think they left something on the table by blowing an 11-point second-half lead.
From late August to late December, USC and Oklahoma seemed to play differently. Who knows what’s in store for 2024 at both schools?
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