USC and Lincoln Riley wasted Caleb Williams’ final season more than anyone could have imagined
The worst thing about this very bad USC football season is the Trojans and Lincoln Riley wasted Caleb Williams’ brilliance.
Williams was the only thing propping up this team for most of the season. MarShawn Lloyd had some great games at running back, but most of USC’s wins were the product of one player: Caleb Williams. He scrambled. He improvised. He made highlight-reel plays and scored more than 40 points in a bunch of games. Even in the games USC didn’t score at least 30 points, Williams was there to turn nothing into something. He was horrible against Notre Dame and average against Arizona and Utah.
Against UCLA, he simply had no chance. The Bruins were all over him, forcing him to run for his life with USC trailing on the scoreboard and needing to pass on most downs.
USC wasted Williams, but it’s actually worse than that: The Trojans didn’t waste him by going 9-3 or 8-4. They wasted him by going 7-5. They wasted him far more than anyone could have imagined.
USC fans, as you can see below, are furious, and rightly so. This wasn’t how Williams’ USC career was supposed to end:
HE DIDN'T WASTE THOSE OTHER QBs, BUT HE DID WASTE CALEB
@LincolnRiley didn’t just waste Caleb Williams….he also wasted Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts. The dude is the biggest fraud in CFB history. pic.twitter.com/B1cRIOEzte
— DJones (@_J_O_N_E_S) November 19, 2023
SO TRUE
What a waste of Caleb’s talent. Feel so bad for him. Appreciate what you see with him because this won’t be seen again….
— USC Trojans News ✌️ (@FightOn2Victory) November 18, 2023
YES IT DID
Oregon scoring with the same play twice.
Did USC waste Caleb Williams final year by not having a defence?
pic.twitter.com/rNVSeConQe— Sunshine (@MrSunshine911) November 12, 2023
YIKES!
Being a USC and Angels fan is tough. I get to watch my teams waste Caleb Williams, Shohei Ohtani, and Mike Trout year round
— Dye’s Mustache (@EverythingSC1) November 18, 2023
SIGH
Caleb Williams one of the most talented NCAA QBs ever, will never make a CFB playoff appearance.
Do you know how badly ran of a program you have to be to waste three years of a generational talented QB like him?
Lincoln Riley and USC is an embarrassment.
— Sam the #1 Pats Fan. (@SamuelDaHooper) November 19, 2023
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Caleb Williams should have stayed at Oklahoma. What a waste!
— Lamel (@jwupun25) November 19, 2023
REMEMBER THIS SO USC CAN LEARN FROM IT
I’m staying till the end! I’m gonna remember this for awhile! Caleb Williams last game! What a waste! Lol
— BILL.ENA 🇦🇸 (@ENA_BILLE) November 19, 2023
DISASTER
Lincoln Riley Year 2 Review
Smacked by Notre Dame & UCLA
No conference championship
No college football playoff
No national championship
Wasted Caleb Williams
Softest o-line ever
Softest defense ever🪑
🔥 pic.twitter.com/6zwuZG8OVj— SS 🏁🐍 (@RoyalAndMadSol) November 19, 2023
WRECKAGE
So, in Lincoln Riley's second season as head coach, USC:
– fielded one of the worst defenses in CFB
– lost 5 of its last 6, inc. both UCLA and Notre Dame
– wasted Caleb Williams' likely final year in college
– failed to produce any confidence that the B10 won't pick them apart— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) November 18, 2023
SAD STORY
Wrote about Caleb Williams and USC. That was such an underwhelming close for such a sensational player. One can't help but feel all that greatness was wasted (and wonder what's next). https://t.co/6fycp7C3cL
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) November 19, 2023
FASCINATING QUESTION
Question for discussion : did Lincoln Riley teams help Caleb Williams career or hurt it?
If nothing else he wasted the potential of what could’ve been.
— Sooners Insider (@SoonersInsider) November 19, 2023
BLUNT TRUTH
We really wasted Caleb Williams smh
— all my teams suck (@Da1Only16) November 18, 2023
LAMENTATIONS
Caleb Williams could have won a Heisman almost anywhere. What a shame he wasted what could have been such an amazing college career. Hope he gets lucky in the NFL.
— Andrea ☝️ (@Dodgson_here11) November 19, 2023
IT HURTS
This USC team, and more specifically, Lincoln Riley, had absolutely wasted a generational talent in Caleb Williams.
— Tommy (@Irieska) November 18, 2023
PIT IN THE STOMACH
Usc really wasted Caleb Williams which is so sad
— Randal snooze (@Randal_Tweets) November 18, 2023
VERY MUCH SO
Drake Maye and Caleb Williams being wasted by their respective schools is nasty stuff
— Josiah🏈 (@RainingGamess) November 18, 2023
HE DIDN'T WASTE KYLER OR BAKER
Lincoln Riley has had:
Baker Mayfield
Kyler Murray
Caleb WilliamsAnd has wasted ALL of them with horrible defenses. Even an average defense and he wins at least one title. https://t.co/bemH7jRhsg
— Boomer (@ESPNHockey23) November 12, 2023
THERE HAVE BEEN BIGGER WASTES OF TALENT, BUT THIS IS STILL BAD
In CFB history, is there a bigger wasted college talent than Caleb Williams? Yes, he won the Heisman but he never made the playoffs. Alex Grinch was his teams DC for 3 years. Lincoln Riley blew those 3 years
— Blue Collar (@BoiseBall) November 12, 2023
AMEN
I feel bad for Caleb Williams & Jayden Daniels. Unbelievable talent wasted by horrible defenses
— Steven Small (@iHappenToLife) November 12, 2023
HE NEEDS A STAFF OVERHAUL
Lincoln Riley should be fired after this season.
Wasted a Heisman QB.
— Caleb Williams SZN (@theblakkmamba24) November 19, 2023
