USC’s problems have big implications for Miller Moss, Malachi Nelson in 2024
USC’s ugly blowout loss to Notre Dame has the Trojans in a very bad position under Lincoln Riley. Unless they pull a rabbit out of the hat and abruptly discover how to play football at an elite level, they are likely to miss the Pac-12 Championship Game. They would go to the Holiday or Alamo Bowl.
That’s a disaster, folks.
Nothing — absolutely nothing — we have seen from USC suggests the Trojans can go 4-1 in their next five games, which is what they need to do in order to make the Pac-12 Championship Game. Going 3-2 probably won’t be good enough.
All of this is happening with Caleb Williams as the USC quarterback.
This is not a third-rate quarterback, but one of the all-time greats.
It leads us into a very uncomfortable but necessary conversation about USC’s quarterback situation for 2024 in the Big Ten.
Let’s talk:
CALEB WILLIAMS
Caleb Williams was awful against Notre Dame, but that was the exception which proves the rule. Imagine USC last season with Miller Moss at quarterback and not Caleb Williams.
The Trojans would have been 7-5 at best, very possibly worse.
If Miller Moss is the QB of this year’s team, the Trojans — 6-1 through seven games under Caleb — would be 4-3 at best, possibly worse.
Caleb Williams masks so many deficiencies for a football team. He rescues plays that go wrong and makes so many other elite plays over the course of most games. He was a disaster against Notre Dame, but again, that was an exceptional, aberrational moment for him. Most of the time, Caleb has carried USC.
The Trojans have needed a superstar-level quarterback to achieve all the good things they have achieved under Lincoln Riley. Anything less, and this program would be stone-dead mediocre. That’s an uncomfortable thing to admit, but it’s reality. Accountability demands living in reality and not ignoring harsh truths.
USC OFFENSIVE LINE
Give Caleb Williams a good, solid offensive line, and an offense will take off. That’s what we saw in 2022. In 2023, without Andrew Vorhees, Brett Neilon, and Bobby Haskins, USC’s offensive line is playing a lot worse.
Because USC has Caleb Williams, the Trojans might still win nine or 10 games, but for most quarterbacks, not having an elite offensive line is an invitation to mediocrity and difficulty. You can see where all of this is leading to: What if USC’s offensive line in 2024 is not elite (the way it was for much of 2022)? What then?
MILLER MOSS
Miller Moss is better this year than he was last year, but will he be good enough in 2024 to deliver championship-level results if the offensive line is anything less than great? It’s not Miller Moss’s fault that the offensive line has regressed in 2023. However, Lincoln Riley has a situation where Moss might not be the quarterback USC needs to deal with LSU, Notre Dame, and a loaded Big Ten schedule.
MALACHI NELSON
Nelson might be a special talent, but he is behind Moss on the depth chart and in terms of overall familiarity with the USC offense. If Moss isn’t ready to be a championship quarterback in 2024, Nelson is even less ready.
USC RECEIVERS
Dorian Singer has been a total bust in the transfer portal for USC. If the Trojans don’t significantly upgrade their receivers in 2024, Moss or Nelson will simply not have top-tier success. USC’s offense has been exposed on a lot of levels this season, something we weren’t expecting. Riley has to upgrade his roster if Moss or Nelson are going to have any chance of winning big in 2024.
INCONVENIENT TRUTH
Given how daunting next year’s schedule is, Riley probably doesn’t have the luxury of thinking he can ride with Moss or Nelson and let the chips fall where they may. He has to get a proven quarterback in the transfer portal. USC fans know how loyal Miller Moss has been to the program. They know he has been a good teammate and a superb representative of the university.
Yet, that doesn’t guarantee him the QB1 spot for 2024. Winning, not being a good guy, should determine who the starting quarterback is.
BAKER MAYFIELD
Baker Mayfield, Lincoln Riley’s first great Oklahoma quarterback, was a transfer from Texas Tech.
KYLER MURRAY
Kyler Murray, the second great Lincoln Riley quarterback at Oklahoma, was a transfer from Texas A&M.
JALEN HURTS
Jalen Hurts, Lincoln Riley’s third great quarterback at Oklahoma, was a transfer from Alabama. You can do the math here, everyone.
BOTTOM LINE
Lincoln Riley will soon enter an offseason in which he will definitely have to fire at least one assistant, and very probably several.
USC will need big upgrades at offensive line and receiver. If the Trojans make several significant upgrades on their coaching staff and their roster, they might — might — have the tools needed to help Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson become an elite quarterback in 2024.
Realistically, though, even if USC makes several necessary changes, the Big Ten schedule (plus LSU and Notre Dame) will be way too tough for Riley to think he can make the 12-team College Football Playoff with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback. He will probably need to go to the portal for his 2024 QB1 if we are being brutally honest (which we need to be).
