USC’s Caleb Williams Says He Will Play in Cotton Bowl

Trojans coach Lincoln Riley called it a “significant hamstring injury.”

USC quarterback Caleb Williams put any idea that he’d miss his team’s final game of the season to bed on Sunday when he said he will play in the Cotton Bowl.

After his team’s heartbreaking 47–24 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game, Williams told reporters that he was dealing with significant pain after popping his hamstring after a long run in the first quarter of the game.

But when talking to the Los Angeles Times on Sunday, he said he will play through the injury and face Tulane. Whether the Trojans will hold him out of the game out of an abundance of caution is a whole other story, though. Coach Lincoln Riley called it a “significant hamstring injury” and didn’t commit to Williams playing in the big game.

If Williams’s Heisman-level campaign is over, he finishes 2022 with 4,075 passing yards, 442 rushing yards and 47 total touchdowns in 13 games played with just four interceptions. 

The Cotton Bowl is scheduled for Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. ET. 

• More CFB: Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz Announces He’s Entering Transfer Portal
• Colorado Introduces Deion Sanders With Rousing Press Conference
• So. Many. Bowls. SI’s First Look at the Games Ahead. 
• All Trojans: Cotton Bowl Confirmed: USC Trojans will play Tulane in Texas 

For more USC coverage, go to All Trojans.