LAS VEGAS — Every seemingly impossible step in USC’s extraordinary yearlong turnaround, from the stunning hire of Lincoln Riley last November to the magical moments constantly conjured by its star quarterback, had for the past year defied any sane expectation, its stunning run all but daring destiny to intervene.
The Trojans had climbed out of the Pac-12 cellar, scratching and clawing their way back from a 4-8 season to the brink of the College Football Playoff. They’d climbed back in the last minute in Corvallis, held tight in Tucson, roared past their rivals at the Rose Bowl. But by Friday night, a yearlong journey few ever expected had reached its abrupt, unceremonious end right on the doorstep of a dream season in a devastating, 47-24 defeat to Utah.
It ended with Caleb Williams limping, unable to evade a ferocious Utah pass rush, and USC’s defense leaking, unable to tackle. It ended in the cruelest of fashions, with Utah piling on and USC helpless, for the first time all season, to change its fate.
“You get that close to winning a championship and much more,” Riley said, “it’s a tough pill to swallow.”
There was little it could do without its Heisman-bound quarterback. Williams had done all he could to play through the searing pain in his hamstring. He laced passes downfield in spite of a cut on his pinky and took hit after hit as he limped his way around the pocket. He’d still throw for 363 yards and three touchdowns, even as Riley tried multiple times to replace his injured quarterback, who demanded he stay in the game.
“That’s as gutsy of a performance as you’ll ever see,” Riley said of his quarterback.
But his tireless effort would only leave him face down on the turf, late in the fourth quarter, as a Utah crowd roared, their team on its way to the Rose Bowl.
Where USC winds up now for its postseason remains to be seen. With a bid to the College Football Playoff semifinals almost certainly out of reach, it’s likely that the Trojans wind up in one of the New Year’s Six bowls, a fitting consolation after an 11-2 season.
Although, it didn’t feel that way Friday.
“It takes so much to get here, especially where we started from, to not get it done, is very disappointing,” Riley said.
