What a Win for USC
It was the Caleb Williams show against the Buffalos on Saturday as USC took care of business in Boulder and escaped with a win. The game was not as close as the final score indicates, with the Trojans winning 48-41, but they were up 48-21 at one point in the 3rd quarter. Granted, Colorado was down a few key defensive starters, cornerbacks Travis Hunter and Carter Stoutmire, as well as starting safety Shilo Sanders, and USC took full advantage.
They started fast against Colorado on Saturday: a six-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a 27-yard touchdown run by running back Marshawn Lloyd. The entire drive only took two minutes and 26 seconds. If there’s anything USC thrives at, it’s playing up-tempo offensively and wearing down the opposing defense. The Trojans were just getting started.
Caleb Williams Clinic
On the first drive of the game, quarterback Caleb Williams completed all four of his pass attempts for 50 yards. In the first half alone, he went 17-20 for 260 yards and four touchdown passes on the way to taking a 34-14 halftime lead. He made it look EASY. His average yards per completion was 13 yards. Coach Prime said of Williams’ performance at halftime: “he’s playing unbelievable, but we’re blowing too many coverages and helping him by giving up big plays.”
The best play of the entire game, in my opinion, was a 71-yard touchdown pass from Williams to wide receiver Tahj Washington in the first quarter. Check this out and marvel at his athleticism and accuracy on the move. He’s just that type of athlete. Williams’ final stats for the day 30-40, 403 yards, SIX touchdown passes, and unfortunately, he did throw his first interception of the season. Williams had plenty of help from his guys.
USC Wide Receiver Duo Shines
USC WR Tahj Washington (16) – USC Athletics
For as great as their quarterback was, USC’s group of receivers was a force to be reckoned with. Tahj Washington had himself a game: eight catches, 117 yards, and the 71-yard touchdown reception from earlier in the game that I mentioned. That was after a quiet game last week against Arizona State, where he only caught one pass for 45 yards. However, Washington wasn’t the only stud on Saturday.
After a stellar performance a week ago against Arizona State that included seven catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns, Brenden Rice picked up where he left off. Today, Rice had five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. If the last name sounds familiar, this is the son of NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.
So far this year, Brenden has 17 catches and seven receiving touchdowns through five games. USC will look to keep their high-flying offense rolling as they face Arizona. More importantly, since Lincoln Riley became head coach last season, they have improved to 9-0 in the August/September games. As great as the offense has been, there is still a glaring weakness that needs to be improved if USC will be considered a legitimate college football playoff contender.
Defense Starts Strong but Falters late
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders (2) – Dustin Bradford/ Getty Images
Credit to Colorado quarterback Shedur Sanders for giving USC all they could handle, especially without their best two-way player, Travis Hunter. Unfortunately for USC, it’s been a recurring theme the last two seasons of having poor defensive play. They had Colorado on the ropes multiple times, being up 34-7 at one point, but Colorado kept answering.
USC gave up 564 total yards of offense to the Buffalos, which included 371 yards to Sanders. After the game, coach Lincoln Riley was just happy his team pulled off the win. “I promise you, at the end of the year, nobody’s going to look back on this and care. They’re going to look back and see it was ‘W’”. It certainly was not pretty, but they got the job done.
Colorado Not Quite There Yet
Although today’s performance showed how resilient Colorado is as a team, there were some big mistakes made that came back to haunt them: a missed field goal in the first quarter when they put together a very good drive. A Shedur Sanders interception when Colorado already trailed 14-0. And then a blocked punt that gave USC a short field and led to a touchdown drive capped off by a receiving touchdown by Brenden Rice.
Just untimely errors cost Colorado a chance at what would’ve been a major upset. But despite coming up short, Coach Prime was VERY proud of his team and knows the future is bright for his program: “If you can’t see what’s coming over the next several months, you’re just a flat-out hater.” This was certainly a step in the right direction and a better performance than what they had against Oregon. Make no mistake about it: Colorado is no longer a team to look past on the schedule.
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