USC Football
Utah demolishes USC withinside the Pac-12 identify sport and crushes the Trojans` CFP hopes
No. eleven Utah overpowered No. four USC, injuring Trojans big name quarterback Caleb Williams and thrashing its protection to win the Pac-12 championship.
Blame Lincoln Riley for USC reworking into messy bust in Pac-12 identify loss
By Bill Plaschke
LAS VEGAS — The invincible quarterback become hobbled.
The genius train become dumb.
The streaking USC Trojans limped and stumbled and sooner or later went splat, their most adorable of goals loss of life an unsightly dying withinside the desert.
Utah 47, USC 24, and who could have thought?
This Pac-12 championship sport Friday night time at Allegiant Stadium become imagined to be a coronation for the No. four-ranked Trojans, the stunningly amazing debut season for train Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams scheduled to culminate of their first convention identify in 5 years and the school`s first College Football Playoff berth.
Then Riley misplaced his mind. And Williams misplaced his mobility after struggling a first-area hamstring injury. And the Trojans sooner or later misplaced their resilience towards a continuing Utah crew that rebounded from a 17-three deficit to run over tacklers, rush beyond linemen and sooner or later overwhelm the Trojans` hopes with the brutality of an irritated craps table.
USC`s 2022 turnaround involves a crashing halt as they watch for their bowl destiny
LAS VEGAS — Every apparently not possible step in USC`s notable yearlong turnaround, from the beautiful rent of Lincoln Riley closing November to the mystical moments continuously conjured via way of means of its big name quarterback, had for the beyond yr defied any sane expectation, its beautiful run all however bold future to intervene.
The Trojans had climbed out of the Pac-12 cellar, scratching and clawing their manner again from a four-eight season to the threshold of the College Football Playoff. They`d climbed again withinside the closing minute in Corvallis, held tight in Tucson, roared beyond their competitors on the Rose Bowl. But via way of means of Friday night time, a yearlong adventure few ever predicted had reached its abrupt, unceremonious quit proper on your step of a dream season in a devastating, 47-24 defeat to Utah.
It ended with Caleb Williams limping, not able to keep away from a ferocious Utah byskip rush, and USC`s protection leaking, not able to tackle. It ended withinside the harshest of fashions, with Utah piling on and USC helpless, for the primary time all season, to extrade its destiny.
“You get that near prevailing a championship and plenty more,” Riley stated, “it`s a hard tablet to swallow
There become little it is able to do with out its Heisman-certain quarterback. Williams had carried out all he should to play via the searing ache in his hamstring. He laced passes downfield despite a reduce on his pinky and took hit after hit as he limped his manner across the pocket. He`d nonetheless throw for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns, whilst Riley attempted more than one instances to update his injured quarterback, who demanded he live withinside the sport.
“That`s as gutsy of a overall performance as you`ll ever see,” Riley stated of his quarterback.
But his tireless attempt could handiest go away him face down at the turf, late