USC Football: Caleb Williams Stays Resilient Despite Notre Dame Disaster

The Heisman winner speaks.

After your USC Trojans' disastrous 48-20 blowout defeat at the hands of Notre Dame in South Bend this past weekend, there's a lot to sort out going forward, especially with regards to the defense and offensive line. 

In discussing the tough road loss and his uncharacteristic three interceptions (plus six sacks), Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams had this to say:

Caleb Williams on bouncing back from his INTs Saturday …

“It’s my first bad game in college, I’d say. You endure, you conquer and you keep going. … That’s one game in the past three years that I’ve had a bad game, so you don’t let that one game bring you down and cause doubt.” pic.twitter.com/QGnsyNb1WE

— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) October 19, 2023

Williams' attitude is clearly really solid entering a tough home showdown with the 14th-ranked Utah Utes, who are 3-0 in their last 3 meetings with the Trojans, and 2-0 in the Caleb/Lincoln era. 

Their most recent battle was in the Pac-12 Championship game, where the Trojans fell 48-24 on the backs of a horrific defensive performance and hamstring injury to Caleb Williams. 

Caleb's comment about it being his "first bad game in college," might be a bit of a reach, as he struggled in a couple of starts prior to transferring to USC, including a 9-18, 142-yard, 2 interception performance in a 27-14 loss to Baylor in 2021. 

To that end, however, Caleb has proven that he's a great bounce-back candidate off of any uncharacteristic performance. With the showdown against Utah being a must-win for both teams, expecting him to rise to the occasion is within the cards. 

Broadly, his attitude is great. Understanding that there's no point in dwelling in a game that has already happened, and instead, looking ahead and trying to best prepare for their next battle is how you psychologically deal with mistakes and adversity. 

Expect a bounce-back from the Trojans this weekend, but even if they come out swinging, it'll be a tough matchup. 

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