What just happened?
That question must have been asked so many times down the stretch of the USC-Oregon State game on Saturday night.
After the Beavers scored to take a 14-10 edge, the Trojans marched down the field in an attempt to take the lead on a thrilling night in Corvallis. However, Caleb Williams and the Trojans faced a tough 4th-and-6 with the game on the line.
So, naturally, the game took a wild twist on an absurd play. Williams rushed the ball and appeared to be stopped short of the first down marker.
Yet, his knees weren’t down, the pile had not stopped moving, and the whistle had not blown.
Williams’ offensive line pushed him forward just enough, and USC got the first down thanks to Brett Neilon’s already-famous push. It was Reggie Bush against Notre Dame in 2005, updated for a new era of Trojan football under Lincoln Riley.
To make things even more dramatic, Williams continued a masterful drive and threw an absolute bullet to Jordan Addison for the go-ahead touchdown, which turned out to be the game-winning score.
After that, Max Williams put the game away with an INT. Here’s how everybody reacted to a wild sequence of events in Corvallis down the stretch.