USC football’s aspirations of making it to the College Football Playoff have taken a hit with their second consecutive loss, this time at the hands of the Utah Utes. Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, showed improvement from his performance in the previous week’s game against Notre Dame, but concerns persist.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt has a different take on the matter, suggesting that the team is placing an excessive burden on Caleb Williams. According to Klatt, the Trojans rely too heavily on the star quarterback, resulting in a less cohesive offensive approach. He points out that USC’s wide receivers struggle to create downfield openings, and the passing game suffers due to the lack of play-action passes and the early abandonment of the running game.
“You see when they lean too much into just Caleb being Caleb, what it ends up being is school-yard because they don’t have the wide receivers that get open down the field on time so Caleb ends up having to hold the ball, back up, create space and then throw it scramble rules,” Klatt said. “The USC football wide receivers aren’t creating enough space and in part because they don’t put defenders at the second and third level in conflict with play-action pass. This is what was so good at Oklahoma is the fact that when they ran the ball that often and that effective, they were able to put defenders in conflict. When those defenders were in conflict, they got more open receivers down the field. Caleb doesn’t have open receivers down the field because a lot of this is drop back pass. The threat of the run is not there because they abandon the run too soon.”
-Quotes via On3 Sports
USC’s statistics tell a revealing story. They excel in passing, ranking 12th in the nation, but their rushing game lags far behind at 116th. Klatt underscores the need for a more well-rounded offensive strategy, reminiscent of past Lincoln Riley-coached teams, particularly at Oklahoma.
As USC prepares to face California in their upcoming game, they face the challenge of reevaluating their offensive game plan and addressing the issues raised by Joel Klatt to salvage their season and playoff hopes.