LOS ANGELES (AP) — One week after the self-described worst game of Caleb Williams' college career, he has to face a Utah defense that beat Southern California twice last season.
It's hardly the script for a get-right Saturday night at the Coliseum, but the ever-confident Williams isn't one to be intimidated by even a daunting challenge.
“You’ll have failure," Williams said. "You’ll have success. But doubt? Why have something like that ruin something that you’re working toward?”
Coach Lincoln Riley is still betting on his Heisman Trophy winner, even with the No. 18 Trojans (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) facing the extraordinary challenge presented by the 14th-ranked Utes (5-1, 2-1) in the schools' final meeting as conference rivals.
“He may have a tough one here and there, but I wouldn’t expect him to have too many, and I doubt he has two in a row,” Riley said.
Williams is still unhappy about the first three-interception performance of his college career in USC's 48-20 thrashing at Notre Dame last weekend. After a steady first half of the season, Williams endangered his chances of a Heisman repeat by going 23 of 37 for a season-low 199 yards and getting sacked six times by the Irish.
Williams is ready to shake it off and to plow into the challenge of facing a conference opponent he's never beaten. He's also aware of the stakes: A loss to Utah would put the Trojans' Pac-12 title dreams in dire straits even before their November gauntlet of consecutive games against Washington, Oregon and UCLA.
“It was my first bad game in college, I’d say,” Williams said. “So you endure, you conquer and you keep going. You don’t hang your head. When your team goes out there and loses a big rival game (and) you threw dumb picks … you obviously have something that you’re taking from it. You’ll just use that as motivation. That’s one game in the past three years that I’ve had a bad game, so you don’t let that one game bring you down."
Williams hasn't exactly played poorly against the Utes' perennially sturdy defense, which has allowed just 73 points this season.
In fact, his Heisman campaign last season got a boost in defeat when he passed for 381 yards and five TDs in a 43-42 loss in Salt Lake City. Williams was hobbled by injury in the Pac-12 championship game, but still passed for 363 yards and three more TDs in the Utes' blowout victory to clinch a second straight Rose Bowl berth.
Although Kyle Whittingham has quarterback problems of his own with the less-than-scintillating competition between Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes, the Utah coach is looking forward to pitting his defense against Williams' brilliance once again.
“This game has been very competitive,” Whittingham said. “It's been a fistfight, it seems like every year. It's gone back and forth. It's just been a great series ever since we joined the conference.”
TWO-WAY PLAYER
Utah's Sione Vaki is likely to do double duty as a safety and a running back for the third time this season. He is averaging 10.3 yards per carry with two touchdowns this season, and he is also the Utes' co-leading tackler with 32. Vaki broke out for 158 yards last week against California, becoming the first Utah defensive back to score two touchdowns since future Los Angeles Rams star Eric Weddle did it in 2006.
ELITE REBOUNDER
Riley is firmly behind Williams and his ability to assess his mistakes honestly.
“He’s always been really productive after the team doesn’t win, or if he doesn’t play up to his standards and our standards,” Riley said. “He’s always been a guy that bounces back strong. His resolve, the team’s resolve, is very strong. … He’s a competitor. It hurts him, but he comes back hungry and ready to get better, owning any mistakes that he has in it. He’s a competitor, and it hurts him. He’s been a good leader, had great energy.”
NO REVENGE
Although USC's portal-bolstered roster contains relatively few veterans who were around for the school's last win over Utah in 2020, the Trojans mostly emerged from last year's two losses with disappointment, not a burning desire for revenge on the Utes.
“Last year when we lost, we knew going forward what we had to work on,” USC safety Calen Bullock said. “This year, it’s the same position. It’s not making a statement (after losing to Utah). It’s just going out there and playing our game and trying to get the win.”
SITTING OUT
Utah safety Cole Bishop will have to miss the first half at the Coliseum after his appeal of a targeting penalty last week was denied. The decision perplexed Whittingham, but he'll likely give playing time to Nate Ritchie in Bishop's absence.
“I still don’t see how it’s called and how it got denied,” Whittingham said. "It’s baffling, but there's nothing we can do about it, so moving forward.”
BIG TARGET
The USC offensive line's struggles to keep Williams upright could get worse against Utah's Jonah Elliss, who is second in the nation with nine sacks. The Utes sacked Williams 11 times in those two meetings last season.
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AP freelance reporter John Coon in Salt Lake City contributed.
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