The rematch of last year’s Pac-12 championship game was as advertised despite USC losing the remainder of its luster against Notre Dame a week ago. Caleb Williams didn’t throw a touchdown pass, or an interception, and spent the majority of the game reprising his role as Sisyphus, rolling the rock within finishing distance of the Utes.
After trailing 28-14 late in the third, the Trojans took their first lead of the game, 32-31, on a Williams 11-yard run with 1:46 left in the contest, but USC failed to convert the two-point conversion, which would’ve pushed the lead to 3. Utah QB Bryson Barnes’ 26-yard, do-or-die scramble moved Utah from the USC 45 into field goal range with five ticks remaining, and two plays later, Cole Becker knocked in the game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired to end it, 34-32.
So for the third consecutive time, USC’s Heisman winner fell to Utah, twice coming on the final play of the game, and twice ending any hopes of a College Football Playoff berth.
In reality, the USC defense is more responsible than anything Kyle Whittingham did for the repeated comeuppance, but that’s not as good of a narrative, so I’ll just go with the Peyton Manning-Florida, Williams-Utah analogy because Williams is Lincoln Riley’s pièce de résistance, and possibly the best quarterback prospect since that hallowed forehead entered the NFL.
The main difference is those Gator teams were perennial contenders for the SEC and national titles, and Manning only kept one loss to Tennessee’s rival within a score. Utah is the reigning back-to-back Pac-12 champ, and the games had large-scale ramifications, so it’s not as if the comparison is completely unfair, or disrespectful, but it’s not airtight.
The other contrast is Manning lost four times to Florida, and Williams isn’t sticking around for another shot, nor would he get it with both schools bouncing from the Pac-12. However, if that wasn’t the case, outside of Zachariah Branch, I don’t know why he’d come back, because USC’s defense is baaaaaaad.
To that point, the lifting asked of Williams this year is heavier than last, and though he’s likely not going to successfully defend his Heisman, it’s reminiscent of Nikola Jokic that year injuries forced Austin Rivers and Will Barton into big minutes. With Washington and Oregon left on the schedule, USC officially playing spoiler, and No. 13 playing with nothing to lose, fans of the Huskies, and Ducks should be terrified.
Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are total bros
What do you think a typical conversation between Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper entails? Do they just jovially complement each other until one claims to have more power, and they trade escalating “Bros!” until Trea Turner has to separate them? I ask because amid their continued raking against the Arizona Diamondbacks — both crushing solo shots in the sixth inning during the Phils’ 6-1 Game 5 win to take a 3-2 lead in the NLCS — the cameras cut to them having a moment.
I don’t have video evidence, but this guy also picked up on the bromance.
The glances were the kind only given when there’s true respect and admiration between great players. Are Harper and Schwarber both stereotypical meatheads who probably couldn’t cook eggs if you walked them through it? Absolutely, but it doesn’t make them any less charismatic.
Original source here
#Utah #Caleb #Williams #Florida #Peyton #Manning
