How Notre Dame broke USC
Last Saturday’s college football slate was loaded with intriguing matchups. With Notre Dame on bye, fans were able to soak in a wonderfully entertaining slate of games stress-free. This was a well-deserved break for everyone.
Of all the action that occurred, Southern Cal losing to Utah’s backup quarterback and a last-second field goal had to be the highlight for Notre Dame fans eating cheeseburgers all weekend.
Just a couple of short weeks ago Caleb Williams was in the hunt to repeat as the Heisman winner and USC, while flawed, were still undefeated and feeling themselves, in true LA fashion.
Then Notre Dame happened.
My how the tone inside and outside the Trojan program has changed quickly. Let’s examine the latest downfall of Troy more closely.
"King" Caleb
Caleb Williams has been making dollars that register in the millions since transferring to USC. He has major mainstream endorsement deals with brands as large as Wendy’s and is the “king” of football in LA. This was supposed to be the year for him to fully cement his college legacy. Win a title for the Trojans while picking up back-to-back Heisman Trophies.
As it turns out, neither of these goals will be possible now after back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and Utah with a tough slate of games yet remaining in conference. Will his camp advise him to sit the rest of the year to prepare for the NFL draft? What’s left to play for at USC?
Everyone respects Williams as a talent. He’s a lightning rod for extra criticism for two reasons.
LA. Simply because the mainstream media loves LA market narratives and secondly. Caleb gives off major diva energy. From “crowning himself”, painting “—- ND” on his fingernails, rumors of having a small list of NFL teams he’d be willing to play for, etc. And when you carry yourself that way, you had better win. Society punishes swagger that isn’t backed up. Caleb and USC as a full entity seem to struggle to accept this.
Lincoln Doubts
Lincoln Riley is barely halfway through year two at USC and rumors are swirling that he and Caleb Williams may jump to the NFL together after this year. And some of these rumors existed even before the Trojans second loss. On top of that, I don’t feel that he’s setting a particularly good example for his young men either.
When times are good, all the loyal Trojan soldiers are quick to find a camera or microphone. But after the Utah loss, Riley made no players available to the media. This is the “LA Way” of thinking that Irish fans can’t stand, and it fuels the fire.
Aside from the practical issue of the USC defense being very bad yet again this year, there are rumblings about his ability to land some of the top local talent in a very quickly changing college landscape. Might he jump to the NFL? Who knows. What I am sure of though is that USC still has games against Washington, Oregon, and UCLA heading their way. Lincoln better find some answers as honest as Abe, and quickly.
Front-Running Fakes
USC fans are fair weather in nature. When times are good they pile in the Coliseum in decent numbers and act as if they’ve been loyal their entire lives. But in reality, the last 10 years of fall Saturdays were spent at the beach. When times are good, the Hollywood PR machine nature of SC the institution takes over. And they are great at it.
In bad times? The team hides from the traditional media following Riley’s cowardice lead, blocks fans on social media, and has now started blocking mainstream media on social media as well. Society doesn’t respect front-runners who are only seen and heard from in good times. This is who USC is and has always been. Every bit as phony as a Hollywood set. It warms Notre Dame fans’ hearts to no end to that know that the Irish triggered this real and digital meltdown.
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