Football gets back in the win column


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Terrell Bynum takes off after catching a pass.
Senior wide receiver Terrell Bynum had three receptions for 29 yards. 10 different Trojans finished the game with a catch. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

USC quarterback Caleb Williams threw for a career-high 411 yards and 5 touchdowns to lead the Trojans to victory over University of Arizona Saturday. Thanks to the Trojans’ defensive struggles, the Wildcats kept the game competitive until the final possession of the 45-37 shootout.

As usual, the Trojans made quick work on offense, scoring on their first 3 possessions. The absence of star receivers junior Jordan Addison and sophomore Mario Williams was noticeable, as several other pass-catchers had breakout days. 

Among those was redshirt junior wide receiver Tahj Washington, who hauled 7 passes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. Fellow redshirt junior Kyle Ford also had an impressive night with 6 catches for 114 yards and a score.

“Sometimes when you don’t have your top two guys, you get to spread the ball around a little bit more,” Williams said. “The other team can’t key in on anybody else. I put the ball where I thought was best, and those guys made some good catches.”

Redshirt senior running back Travis Dye once again led the Trojan rushing attack, carrying the ball 20 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. The contest marked his fifth 100-yard performance this season, with 760 yards across eight games.

But USC’s defensive struggles kept Arizona in the game until the final possession, with Williams sneaking across the line of scrimmage on fourth and short to deny the Wildcats another possession before time expired. Arizona sophomore quarterback Jayden de Laura threw for 380 yards and 3 touchdowns, adding 54 yards on the ground.

“We gave up too many big plays,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley. “We were scoring pretty quick offensively, so it became that kind of game for a little bit, but we got the key stops when we needed to.”

The Wildcats’ passing attack centered on sophomore wide receiver Dorian Singer, who tallied 141 yards and saw the endzone three times. Singer put Arizona on the board with the game’s first touchdown with a one-handed grab through tight coverage from sophomore defensive back Jaylin Smith midway through the first quarter.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” said Riley. “They made some unbelievable plays, especially in the first half.”

While Arizona only held the lead for a short period in the first quarter following their opening possession, USC continued to allow the Wildcats to play catch up — only forcing one turnover in the first half. The Wildcats had their way with USC’s defense and at one point scored on two straight possessions to erase the Trojans’ lead from 15 to 2 as the third quarter came to an end.

But the Trojan offense saved the day and dug the team out of their slump with touchdowns on 2 straight possessions to reclaim a demanding lead. Although they forced a punt between said touchdowns, USC’s defense allowed one final Wildcats touchdown, forcing the Trojans to defend their lead on offense with 1:26 left in the game.

While struggles on defense may not be new this season, the Trojans had trouble in a usually confident realm of their game in Tucson: special teams. Freshman placekicker Denis Lynch missed 2 of his 3 field goals on the day, from 56 and 39 yards, respectively. Saturday marked Lynch’s third miss under 40 yards this season, the first two coming in September against Stanford and Oregon State.

Despite some challenges, Riley was still proud of his team’s performance.

“The number of things that didn’t go our way was a long list,” Riley said, “ I don’t know many teams that would’ve responded like this.”

The victory brings Southern Cal to 7-1, 5-1 in Pac-12 play, while the Wildcats fall to 3-5, 1-4.  The Trojans will take on UC Berkeley  Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.