3 Things We Learned About the USC Trojans in Week 8

The Southern California Trojans fell at home to the Utah Utes 34-32. The loss drops USC to 6-2 on the season, eliminating the Trojans from College Football Playoff contention.

What did we learn about the USC Trojans on Saturday?

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The Utes Own The Trojans

USC will leave the PAC-12 with four straight defeats at the hands of Kyle Whittingham and the Utah Utes. The Trojans lost to Utah twice last season (once in the regular season, once in the PAC-12 Championship) and were looking for revenge on Saturday night. After taking a late lead, they could not get a key stop, and a last-second 38-yard field goal led Utah to yet another win over Lincoln Riley and the Trojans. Cam Rising only threw one pass, but it was completed for a 53-yard touchdown. His backup, Bryson Barnes, threw for three scores of his own and added 57 yards on the ground. Riley called the defeat “gut-wrenching,” the second loss relegates USC to another season of missing the College Football Playoff portal.

Offensive Shakiness

Caleb Williams had a solid game, completing 24 of 34 passes for 256 yards but failed to throw for a touchdown and only ran for 27 yards. Those numbers are OK, but they are not what anyone has to come to expect from the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the USC offense. Explosive freshman Zachariah Branch only had two touches for three yards. They only had three plays of more than 30 yards during the game and generally appeared to lack difference-makers on offense. MarShawn Lloyd had a nice game with 86 rushing yards plus a touchdown, but even in a game where the Trojans did not make many mistakes, they barely cracked 400 yards. Utah’s defense deserves credit, but the USC offense has not reached the expected dizzying heights.

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The biggest question coming from this game has to be: where does USC go from here? Williams returned as the Heisman Trophy winner, and the Trojans were expected to take a step forward on defense, compete for the PAC-12 Championship, and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. Instead, they have taken a step back and have looked shaky all season. The Trojans are now 6-2 and are fortunate to have reached six wins with a few narrow victories that could easily have gone the other way. USC still has games against Washington, Oregon, and UCLA on the slate and could easily end up 7-5 in the regular season. With the Trojans headed to the Big Ten after this season, there will be significant questions about when (or if) Riley can get the Trojans to the next step.

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