With Caleb Williams at the controls, Lincoln Riley's USC offense continues to get better
USC’s 41-35 victory against Cal wasn’t an impressive one, but that wasn’t the fault of Lincoln Riley’s offense, which totaled 515 yards on the night.
The Trojans didn’t feel quite as smooth or explosive on the offensive side of the ball, and Riley was not largely impressed with the performance, but given what USC was working with in terms of injuries, it’s difficult to complain about the execution.
“We didn’t play our best, really on any of the sides. Didn’t have a very good first half offensively,” Riley said. “We had some opportunities offensively. We could have really separated and we didn’t … We've just got to do more good and we've got to continue to eliminate some of the bad football that has held us back from playing our best.”
USC's offense is ranked in the Top 10 in the country in every meaningful statistical category. The Trojans would like to be firing on all sides of the ball, but this will always be a tough team to beat with Caleb Williams behind center.
Here's a look at how each offensive position group performed in USC's ninth game of the 2022 season:
Quarterback: A+
Photo by Jason Goode
Caleb Williams deserves more attention in the Heisman Trophy conversation. The sophomore threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns Saturday against Cal and picked up one more score on the ground.
That’s three consecutive games Williams has notched five touchdowns without a turnover, and his season touchdown to interception ratio is now 28-1, with four rushing touchdowns. Though his passing volume might not be the highest among college quarterbacks, his efficiency is elite, and he’s quietly leading one of the best offenses in the country.
“It’s ridiculous, you know, he’s come a long way since I played him in the Alamo bowl a year back,” Dye said of his quarterback. “He’s a very good player, very smart, he’s a great team leader. I wouldn’t want to go out there with anyone else, and just the fact that he’s a sophomore always surprises me when I think about it.”
The Trojans were without Jordan Addison and Mario Williams once again, but that didn’t stop Williams from moving the ball. Michael Jackson III, Tahj Washington and Terrell Bynum received the majority of the targets, with Jackson recording a game high 115 yards and two touchdowns; Washington with 112 and one score.
Williams no doubt misses his two top targets on the outside but has made it work wonderfully over the last two weeks.
Running backs: A
Photo by Jason Goode
This is largely just a Travis Dye grade, as only three combined carries went to Austin Jones and Raleek Brown out of the running back room, but the veteran back maintained his consistency once again.
Dye fell just short of the 100-yard mark with 98 on the ground but did find the end zone to extend his streak to eight consecutive games with a touchdown and hauled in two catches for 18 yards.
The rushing attack is really the soul of this offense, and it would seem the Trojans could benefit from leaning more heavily into it. Dye carried the ball just 15 times, but USC’s most productive drives were really galvanized by the ground game.
In either case, USC hasn’t really struggled to put points on the board at all this season, with the exception of an off-game on the road at Oregon State.
Wide receivers: A
Photo by Jason Goode
As mentioned, Jackson and Washington made huge contributions again this week, putting up comparable numbers to what Addison and Mario Williams might have been expected to produce.
“They’re two really competitive players, two guys who have made an impact, not only on offense, but on special teams. They’re two guys that right at the beginning when we started, they weren’t necessarily at the top of the depth chart or guys that were getting a lot of opportunities, and they’ve hung in there and they’ve continued to work, continued to improve,” Riley said of the two standout performers.
“Those guys are kind of evidence of what we need to be as a team. You keep improving, and then those opportunities show up and you’re ready. Really proud of this guy (Jackson), proud of Tahj. With some players out we needed guys to step up, and they’ve done it in a big way.”
Eight Trojans were targeted Saturday, including Dye and two tight ends, Josh Falo and Lake McRee, the latter of whom found the end zone late in the game.
Kyle Ford’s role was reduced in comparison to the Arizona game, and Brendan Rice has struggled to find separation as of late, not contributing much to the offense with just eight catches in his last three games.
Still, the receiving corps got the job done against Cal and is getting close to returning its most prolific weapons, who can hopefully participate in the Colorado game this week and get rolling again before USC takes on UCLA.
Offensive line: A
The line was a bit healthier with Andrew Vorhees returning to the lineup, although this group didn’t struggle much without him against Arizona.
There’s not much to remark on for the line, which is usually a good thing. The run game clicked as usual, and Williams had plenty of time in the pocket to distribute the ball around.
