USC football back for one last Pac-12 ride
The talented Trojans take on San Jose State to build momentum for the season.
By DARREN PARRY
USC football has returned. The No. 6 Trojans will step on the gridiron for the first time in 236 days after a heartbreaking loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. USC will take on the San Jose State Spartans Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with their highest preseason AP Poll ranking since 2017, when they were ranked No. 4.
The Trojans had a bounce-back year last season under first-year Head Coach Lincoln Riley, who led the Trojans to their biggest one-season turnaround in school history, totaling 11 wins. However, with all of that success comes some obstacles.
“I think this group is going to really need to come together in a way that the season challenges you in different ways, and we’re going to get challenged in different ways than we did previously,” said Riley in a Zoom press conference. “I think the group last year did a great job of coming together and, in a lot of ways, overachieved in some regards.
Junior quarterback Caleb Williams will look to build off one of the best seasons by a quarterback in college football history. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner threw for 4537 yards with 42 passing touchdowns and five interceptions. The electric playmaker was also very successful on the ground, rushing for 382 yards and 10 touchdowns. His total yardage and touchdowns are the most ever in a season by a Trojan.
Because of his elite playmaking and raw talent, the projected first overall pick in next year’s NFL draft is already getting compared to NFL star Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s the best player in the world right now … Everyone in the world loves him. The man has two Super Bowls,” Williams said. “So to be compared to someone like that is respect, but it’s also irrelevant because I’m Caleb, Caleb Williams, I’m here at USC, and I haven’t even won a National Championship yet.”
Junior quarterback Caleb Williams is returning for another year and defending his Heisman crown. He set countless records at USC last season, but the one thing he wants is the National Championship. (Brooks Taylor / Daily Trojan)
Although the Trojans had a high-powered offense, averaging 41.36 points per game, their defense is the part of their team that mightily struggled last year. The Trojan defense gave up 35 points or more in six of their 14 games.
Senior inside linebacker Mason Cobb will look to bolster this group and be the leader on defense. The transfer from Oklahoma State led his team in total tackles with 96 and tackles for loss with 13 in his junior campaign.
The newly named team captain has high expectations and is excited for the season to start.
“We’ve been preparing for this for several months, it’s the, ‘Come on, we’re ready, we want to play today.’ Guys are excited; you feel the energy at practice,” Cobb said. “We have to get ready for Saturday.”
The Trojans face an athletic dual-threat quarterback in senior Chevan Cordeiro. The transfer from Hawaii threw for 3251 yards while adding 265 yards on the ground. The Mountain West Preseason Offensive Player of the Year threw for 23 touchdowns while rushing for nine.
Sophomore defensive lineman Anthony Lucas seems up for the challenge as he highlighted some of the strengths of the Spartans offense.
“How well [the offensive line is] able to protect the quarterback for him to get the ball out quickly,” Lucas said.
The Spartan defense lost key players from previous seasons to the NFL this past season. San Jose State had the most sacks in the Mountain West conference last season with 39, however, 26 of those were from players who are not on the team this season. The Spartans also lost two former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award winners in defensive lineman Vilami Fehoko and defensive lineman Cade Hall.
Regarding their defensive backs, senior wide receiver Brenden Rice had some high praise for them.
“The way that they rally to the ball. They’re a good group of collective guys,” Rice said. “I can’t wait to play them.”
The last time USC and San Jose State played each other was the beginning of the 2021 season, when the Trojans cruised to a 30-7 victory over the Spartans. Although this was only two seasons ago, things look very different for the Trojans on both sides of the ball this time.
The only offensive player who recorded a stat for the Trojans still on the team is redshirt senior wide receiver Tahj Washington. He recorded 56 yards on four catches and one touchdown from former USC quarterback Kedon Slovis.
This is the first of three straight home games for the Trojans to start the season. They fared very well last season at the Coliseum, going a perfect 7-0 at home and going undefeated at home for the first time since 2017.
The Trojans will be without redshirt senior defensive lineman Solomon Tuliaupupu for the remainder of the season as he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
“He just had a procedure to repair a lower leg injury,” said Riley. “Real disappointed — he was having a great camp, had a great spring … knowing him and what he has fought back from it’ll be no surprise from us all that he’ll [bounce back].”
The Trojans will look to start their College Football Playoff resume this Saturday at the Coliseum against the San Jose State Spartans at 5 p.m.
