Retour
Caleb Williams didn't have to travel far to see his alma mater, USC, take on Wisconsin on Saturday evening in a cross-country Big 10 showdown at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI.
Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner with the Trojans, is fresh off a second consecutive win with the Chicago Bears, passing for 308 yards in a Thursday Night Football win over the New England Patriots. With his team having already played, he was able to check in on his old school.
NBC captured Williams on the USC sideline helping current QB Jayden Maiava warm up, giving him some pointers on his throwing mechanics. Maiava, a candidate to go in the first round of the 2027 NFL Draft, didn't have his best day.
His day couldn't have started much worse: he threw for two first-quarter interceptions, and the USC offense struggled, gaining just 97 yards in the first half
Maiava finished the 24-7 defeat by completing 31 of his 50 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown, to go along with the pair of early giveaways.
“I think it was a lot of self-inflicted wounds. It's just stuff we got to get better at,” he said during his post-game press conference. “And me, flat-out, didn’t play great individually, but I just got to deliver better for my teammates.”
Maiava is having a fine season, having completed 66.8% of his passes overall for 2,303 yards with a strong 19-5 touchdown-interception ratio. The senior from Hawaii hasn't added much with his legs.
Williams, during his 2022 Heisman campaign, completed 66.6% of his passes for 4,537 yards with an even stronger 42-5 touchdown-interception ratio. USC just missed out on the College Football Playoffs.
The Bears man made the rounds on the sidelines pregame with another Trojans legend: Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen. Both have their numbers retired by the famous school.
USC entered the week ranked No. 16 but will likely tumble out of the Associated Press top 25 following the program's defeat to unranked Wisconsin.
The schedule for coach Lincoln Riley and company doesn't get any easier anytime soon: next up is a home matchup against No. 3 Ohio State. A week later, the Trojans will make another journey to the Midwest, this time stopping in Indiana to take on the No. 6-ranked reigning national collegiate champions.
USC ends the season with a road matchup against No. 9 UCLA in a cross-town showdown for Los Angeles bragging rights.