The Fight is Off
The USC Trojans have failed to meet expectations in 2023
It has been nearly 19 years since USC football has won a national title under Peter Carroll who coached the team from 2001–2009 before eventually taking over as head coach for the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League.
Since his absence, the program has been trying to revive that spark it once had during its glory years but to no avail.
The Trojans have gone through six different head coaches and so far none of them have been able to fill the shoes left by Carroll.
They have had many different starting quarterbacks lead the team since the glory years with Matt Leinart. Although some showed outstanding talent, none have been able to lead the program to even get a whiff of a national title.
After the Trojans had an appalling 4–8 record in 2021 it seemed that all hope was lost for USC to regain what they once had.
No head coach and the quarterback situation in the future was in complete disarray as it looked like things weren’t going to work out with Kedon Slovis or Jaxson Dart.
However, that all changed quickly in November of 2021 when Lincoln Riley, who was the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, was hired to take over the reins as the 26th head coach in the program’s history. A move that shocked all of college football.
He didn’t come alone. With him came his starting quarterback while at Oklahoma, Caleb Williams, and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
There was also some exceptional talent coming from the transfer portal as well. It was a brand new team.
Finally, a glimmer of hope.
Finally, some excitement.
Never have the fans been as enthusiastic as they were then to watch their team take the field in the fall. Excitement would once again fill the air at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Even talk of the Trojans getting into the College Football Playoffs was surrounding the team. That means they would be squaring off against teams like the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Michigan Wolverines.
Fans couldn’t wait for the season to start and 2022 couldn’t have started any better.
They came into the season ranked sixth in the nation and started 6–0 until losing their first game in a nail-biter to the Utah Utes. Despite the loss, they bounced back and dominated the remainder of the regular season.
Unfortunately, the season ended on a bitter note as USC lost the PAC-12 Championship game to Utah and then lost to the Tulane Green Wave in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl to officially end its season.
Even though the season didn’t end the way fans wanted, USC still finished 11–3. Way better than the abysmal 4–8 record it had the previous season while coached by Clay Helton.
Lincoln Riley seemed to be the key to awakening what the Trojans once had and the future seemed to be bright. Especially for 2023 with Caleb Williams sticking around for another year.
What a treat it was to watch Williams play in 2022. He had an immaculate season throwing for 4,537 yards, and 42 touchdowns, including 10 rushing touchdowns, a completion percentage of 66.6%, and only five interceptions.
With a season like that, it was no wonder he won the Heisman Trophy. The first Trojan to win the Heisman since Matt Leinart in 2004 (Reggie Bush vacated his in 2005)
With 2023 looking bright, it was obvious there was one thing that was holding this team back from being contenders of winning a national title, the defense. In all three of their losses, it was apparent that Utah and Tulane were able to run all over whatever defensive schemes Grinch was running.
Fans wanted Grinch to be let go because they were afraid that the defense would perform just as poorly in 2023.
They were right.
The schedule for the 2023 season looked like it was going to be anything but a walk in the park.
They were to play teams such as the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, Utah Utes again, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and their arch-rival UCLA Bruins.
Just like in 2022, the Trojans once again started 6–0 with Williams still performing at an elite level. There were even conversations of him winning the Heisman for the second year in a row which hasn’t been done since Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975.
The Trojans started the season undefeated but the same problem remained. The defense.
The offense picked up where they left off in 2022, but the defense wasn’t anywhere near how good the offense was.
The defense gave up 28 points to San Jose State, another 28 points to Arizona State, 41 points to Colorado in a game that shouldn’t have been as close as it was, and another 41 points to Arizona in a game that went to three overtimes.
That’s just absurd, but USC ended up learning the hard way soon after losing to Notre Dame by a score of 48–20. Not to mention it was an upset.
If only it was just that game that showed how much the defense could potentially hold this team back from having a phenomenal season.
The Trojans were then upset by Utah in a game that was ruined because of the defense. Even against an unranked subpar team like Cal, they only won by one point, allowing the Golden Bears to score 49 points.
Riley decided it was enough after a 52–42 loss to Washington and finally fired Grinch.
Fans were happy to hear it, but it came far too late.
USC would go on to lose its final two games to Oregon and UCLA.
After going 6–0, the Trojans lost five of their next six games falling off the rankings of the Associated Press’ Top 25 College Football Poll as they finished with an underwhelming 7–5 record.
USC has missed a chance to compete in the College Football Playoffs and this year’s last-ever PAC-12 Championship game that was won by Washington over Oregon 34–31.
Just a measly Holiday Bowl game on Dec. 27 that no one is excited for.
With that, it’s pretty much a sure bet that Williams will not be winning another Heisman Trophy. The Bowl game could be his last as a Trojan before getting ready for the 2024 NFL Draft.
A season so full of aspirations went down the drain in a blink of an eye.
Thank you for reading my story.
