USC Football: PFF Ranks Trojans Second to Pac-12 Rival in Highest-Graded Offense
USC's offense, led by Caleb Williams, hasn't skipped a beat from their dominant 2022 year into the first month of 2023.
The 2023-24 Heisman candidate (and 2022-23 Heisman winner) once again heads one of the best units in college football by multiple metrics, though they still lag behind a conference rival for top dogs in the nation.
The Huskies boast their own Heisman-level signal caller in Michael Penix Jr., and his performance through the first month propelled him to leapfrog Williams in the Heisman race.
Not only has Washington's talented passer scooted by Williams for individual honors, but the team as a whole now ranks above USC after the Trojans' lackluster showing in week 4.
Both teams are still undefeated, but the Men of Troy's path to their respective 4-0 record surely got tainted by their struggle against an unranked Arizona State roster.
Williams was his typically brilliant self, though it took about three quarters for him to settle into the game fully.
Perhaps hung over from their early season bye week, USC took their first conference game for granted after the offense failed to register 50 points for the first time this year.
Meanwhile, Washington's offense remained on fire after Pennix led the Huskies to a dominant victory over the California Golden Bears in their first conference matchup of the year.
Should these two red-hot prospects keep their great performances up, both will have plenty on the line when the two schools match up in November.
Each school now ranks within the AP's top 10 teams and will likely be the Pac-12 championship favorites just one month into the year.
Before we can start dreaming about these possibilities, each contender will have plenty of work to do in the meantime.
As of this writing, USC is in the midst of another tough matchup for Week 5, against Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes, while Washington hopes to keep their hot offense rolling against Arizona this evening.
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