SI

College Football Week 7 Takeaways: USC’s Loss Was a Long Time Coming

Caleb Williams and the Trojans had an off night on offense in South Bend, and that’s something an incomplete USC squad cannot afford. Plus, the SI Top 10.

Richard Johnson

College Football Week 7 Takeaways: USC’s Loss Was a Long Time Coming
College Football Week 7 Takeaways: USC’s Loss Was a Long Time Coming /
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This day always felt like it was coming for USC. Inevitably, the Trojans’ good fortune would run out and the offense would not be able to score enough to outpace their defensive deficiencies and the rent would finally come due. Consider it the first of the month for Lincoln Riley’s crew as they were dominated at Notre Dame, losing 48–20.

Many around the USC program have spent the last week coming to the defense of embattled defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Despite the score, you could make the argument that down-in, down-out perhaps his defense held up more than it has in many other games this season, and they were behind the eight-ball from the start due to an absolute nightmare outing for Caleb Williams and the Trojans on offense. 

It was a chilly game in slightly sloppy midwestern weather (a window into USC’s Big Ten future), and Notre Dame was able to disrupt Williams in myriad ways, coming after him over and over again. The Irish sacked him six times and handled his penchant to bail on the pockets with a dedicated game plan to mirror his movements. The pressure mightily rattled Williams, who threw three first-half interceptions. 

There was nothing even approaching complementary football in this one, and it wasn’t even possible thanks to an early 24–3 hole that allowed the ND defense to tee off on Williams. The Trojans barely even attempted to run the ball once they got to the point where they were truly chasing the game. It’s reminiscent of Clemson’s nightmare visit to Notre Dame Stadium last year when the Tigers ended up being dominated by a swarming Notre Dame defense and an Irish offense that gobbled up points put on a silver platter for them.

If you’d been paying attention to this USC team this season, is this even much of a surprise? Well, yes and no. A lot of their 6–0 record did not look like performances befitting of one of college football’s actual elites from a total team perspective. This isn’t so much about the fact that they lost, but how. Progress isn’t linear, but it sure feels like USC hasn’t made a ton of significant progress. Maybe USC will get back to being a championship contender under Riley, but despite Williams’s brilliance, they’re just not close to being a complete team, and when they can’t get Williams’s best, a disaster is well within the realm of possibility.

Washington Huskies wide receiver Giles Jackson (0) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium.
Washington is the last undefeated team in the Pac-12 :: Steven Bisig/USA Today Sports

SI top 10 (of the week)

1. Washington

In the game of the year so far, the Huskies beat Oregon, 36–33. It was an absolute heavyweight bout where Washington got the better end of high leverage plays on fourth down and rode its outlandishly good offense to the victory thanks to a missed Oregon field goal at the buzzer, Washington unquestionably wins the week after one of the best wins any team has had all season.

2. Michigan

Another ho-hum day for the Wolverines in which they win 52–7 against a conference opponent that doesn’t look like it belongs on the field with them. Michigan’s point differential is +149 in four conference games so far.

3. Florida State

The Noles didn’t miss a beat against Syracuse, taking care of business, 41–3. QB Jordan Travis may have gotten a little banged up, but finished the game.

4. Georgia

Vanderbilt scored early in the game and then didn’t have much joy as the game was firmly put away by UGA thereafter. The Dawgs won 37–20 to roll into their bye week undefeated.

5. North Carolina

It’s about time we start considering UNC as not just a contender, but perhaps squarely the one true ACC contender to Florida State in the conference. Their comprehensive 41–31 win over Miami showed that this team is more than just Drake Maye.

6. Ohio State

The Buckeyes blew out Purdue 41–7, showing that there is no lookahead concern considering what’s coming next weekend …

7. Penn State

The Nittany Lions effectively had two bye weeks. One was a real one and the other was this week against a woefully outmatched UMass team it handled 63–0.

8. Alabama

The Tide are leaning into what they do well on offense, which is to chuck deep and hope for the best. They got that in spades in this game in the first half and held on for a 24–21 victory over Arkansas.

9. Notre Dame

The Irish are out of the Playoff picture, but if they’re capable of performances like this, it does show that they’re on the right track in Marcus Freeman’s second year despite those unhappy with how up and down the team has been at times.

10. Oregon

The Ducks lost, but there’s no shame in taking an L to a Washington team that’s this good in this fashion. Their fourth-down aggressiveness will be second guessed, but it’s who they are and when it works, people love it. But when it doesn’t, it can appear to be the thing to blame for the loss.

SI Players of the Week: North Carolina wide receiver Tez Walker and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts

  • Walker is most certainly growing into his role with the Heels now that he’s eligible. He had three touchdowns of 18, 33, and 56 yards against Miami, and his six reception of 132 yards were huge for UNC in the win. ESPN said he was just the fifth player this season to have three touchdown catches of 15 yards or more
  • Watts had two interceptions and his forced fumble late in the game was just icing on the cake for a Notre Dame defense that was truly dominant Saturday.

Did you see that?

  • Keon Coleman doing his best Calvin Johnson impression with this one arm stab: 
  • How about this from the big fella Sedrick Van Pran? The Georgia center has a miscue on the snap, and took matters into his own hands. 
  • Block. Of. The. Week.
  • We go to the FCS for one of the best sideline catches you’ll ever see.
  • Wanna tackle KJ Jefferson? Good luck. 
Published
Richard Johnson
RICHARD JOHNSON

Richard Johnson is known for his college sports expertise. He co-hosts the “Split Zone Duo” podcast and co-authored The Sinful Seven: Sci-fi Western Legends of the NCAA. Richard was the 2022 winner of the Edward Aschoff Rising Star Award, and previously appeared as an analyst on the SEC Network show “Thinking Out Loud.” He established an early career with ESPN and SB Nation before joining Sports Illustrated in 2021 and lives in Brooklyn.

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