USC’s Williams, fueled by ’22 failure, forecasts CFP

• Heather Dinich, ESPN Elder WriterJul 21, 2023, 09:30 PM ET

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  • College football reporter
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2007
  • Graduate of Indiana University

LAS VEGAS– USC quarterback Caleb Williams said last year’s loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game still “burns,” and he forecasted the Trojans will be in the College Football Playoff this fall.

“I’m very figured out,” Williams, the reigning Heisman Prize winner, told ESPN on Friday at the Pac-12 media day. “I haven’t been in the College Football Playoff in my 2 years of playing. … It’s been tough. It troubles me because I play for champions. I do not play for anything else. So not having the ability to have the chance and being so close annoys me. This year it’s going to be a great one.”

Had USC defeated Utah and won the conference in 2015, the Trojans most likely would have earned a top-four finish and a spot in a CFP semifinal. Williams was impeded by a hamstring injury, though, and the Utes beat the Trojans 47-24. USC likewise lost to Utah throughout the routine season, and Williams said he still replays in his mind what went wrong last season.Editor’s Picks

2 Related Without thinking twice, he determined 2 goal passes he stated he missed against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl and a wide-open receiver he missed down the middle in the first game versus Utah, when he “left his read too quick.”” I have plays in my mind that I can consider and strongly,”

he stated.”I zone out and think of the play and where we were and all that. It’s for sure a chip. I know I’m not the only one.”USC coach Lincoln Riley agreed.” In reality, getting to the

point where we were a play far from winning the conference or going to the playoff, was that mainly positive? Yes,”he stated.”However do I want us to have the sour taste in our mouth that it was right there and we didn’t finish it? Absolutely. I desire there to be excitement, however I want that pissed-off mindset. I do not believe I have actually needed to cultivate that or create it. It’s there. It’s certainly there. “USC was chosen by the media to finish initially in its last season in the conference, as the Trojans and UCLA will sign up with the Big 10 in 2024. As conference adjustment continues to impact scheduling, Riley stated on Friday that even with the change in affiliation, he anticipates USC to continue to find a way to face rival Notre Dame.” That is among the greatest competitions in college football,”he said.”We’re going into a damn good league.

We open up with LSU next year and then play the entire Big Ten. Are we eliminating Notre Dame? Hell no. Discover a way. “Riley, who pertained to USC in 2015 from Oklahoma, raised USC’s competition with Notre Dame in response to a question about Bedlam. The previous Sooners coach weighed in on a subject that was brought up recently at Big 12 media days, where some coaches– particularly Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy– regreted that this will likely be the last season of the Bedlam competition game for a while because of the Sooners’pending transfer to the SEC next year.” I hate it, “Riley stated.”This is among the important things that separates our sport. You can discover a way. We’re preparing to go to a 12-team playoff. You’re going to have some grace now. You’re most likely going to have the ability to lose two games and still get to the playoff. You have actually got a larger responsibility to college football. … Not that they care what I think anymore, but I want the two schools would get together and discover a way. “USC takes a trip to Notre Dame on Oct. 14 this year and deals with Utah the following Saturday. If the Trojans are going to live up to Williams’playoff prediction, they probably have to win at

least one of those games. Williams stated he would be honored to win the Heisman Prize a second straight season, but winning the nationwide title would ultimately imply more.” It would mean something, but the golden one at the end would imply a lot more to me, “he said.”It ‘d be an honor to have the second one, to only be the second one out of even the smaller group of 88 people, it

would be a satisfaction and honor, however the golden one at the end is what I bet and what the majority of people bet. “