Commentary: For USC football, what should it mean to be 'back'?

USC wide receiver Jordan Addison carries the ball against Utah.

Staff Writer

Oct. 16, 2022 9:15 AM PT

For USC football, what does being “back” mean? The definition differs by program and in the eye of the beholder.

At Texas, for instance, being “back” has become a national punchline among plugged-in, meme-happy fans — to the point that the Longhorns nearly losing to Iowa State in Austin on Saturday meant they are “back” just as much as them pummeling Oklahoma the week prior.

As the Trojans continue their ascent under Lincoln Riley, there will be an ongoing assessment of their backness. For many of the Trojan legions, those with the highest standard and natural entitlement, USC will have returned to its proper stature only when it is annually competing for the national championship — and, at some point (soon, mind you), winning one.

Saturday night’s loss to Utah, while forgivable, mostly puts an end to that pursuit for 2022. In the four-team playoff format, the Trojans would need absolute anarchy to break out down the stretch (I’ll get to those scenarios later in this column) to have a shot at the ultimate prize.

But let me paint an alternate picture of what back looks like — if the word connotation was tied more to national relevance than literal championship hardware won.

USC was back Saturday night in Salt Lake City because when it lost in thrilling fashion in the final minute, the postgame scene followed the blueprint of what happens when a college football powerhouse goes down on the road:

The Utah fans stormed the field. Being good Utahns, they were nice about it, sure, but the joy and vindication they felt in knocking off unbeaten USC was palpable in the cool evening air. Beating the Trojans mattered again in a program-defining way. Utah’s students will remember it forever. Wins over USC haven’t felt like that to the opposition in at least five years.

Next, the Trojan devastation was real. Quarterback Caleb Williams, after playing marvelously for four quarters, tumbled to the turf as his final pass of the night fell incomplete. The sophomore, who hasn’t even been wearing cardinal and gold for a year, cried real tears.

“It was a lot of fight in this team,” Williams said. “We put in a lot of work for so long, and I’m going to be honest, I hate losing. It really, really … I hate it, simply. So I had a little emotion. After that, a hard loss against a good team, had a little emotion. But the only thing we can promise you is we aren’t going to go undefeated but that’s not the end-all, be-all for this team.”

That last line of Williams’ quote points to the third prerequisite for a big-time program losing in crushing fashion: In postgame quotes, the coaches and players process their pain by saying that all their goals are still in front of them.

One Trojan after the next did this Saturday night with belief in their eyes.

To some, this USC interpretation of “back” may not be enough. But nobody can deny that significant ground has been covered in the last seven weeks.

The Riley rebuild remains far ahead of schedule.

Playoff pursuit primer

Tennessee tight end Princeton Fant celebrates with teammates scoring a touchdown during the first half against Alabama.

We’re halfway through the regular season now, and thankfully Saturday’s slate put a resounding exclamation point on an entertaining first half and teased more fun to come.

Tennessee’s late-game heroics made sure that at least one of Alabama and Georgia took a loss. Given the top-heavy nature of the sport today, that is always a welcome site — especially when it ushers in a potential playoff party crasher like the Volunteers.

The Vols may have saved the country from a same-old, same-old playoff featuring Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and the Ohio State-Michigan winner (of course, the Wolverines beating the Buckeyes is still a very novel concept despite it happening last season).

As it stands, the realistic pool of playoff contenders is still shrinking by the week. The Georgia-Tennessee winner now feels like a lock, along with the Ohio State-Michigan winner. Clemson continues to survive an improved Atlantic Coast Conference schedule and has to be considered a favorite to go unbeaten and make the field. That fourth spot is still wide open, and UCLA, as the Pac-12’s lone unbeaten, enters Saturday’s showdown at Oregon as the West Coast’s best shot to fight its way in for the first time since 2016.

The Bruins have a lot of work to do, though, so it’s best to not get ahead of ourselves there.

Alabama looms as always. If the Crimson Tide win out, knocking off Georgia or Tennessee in the SEC title game, the Crimson Tide are in, and it’s highly likely one-loss Georgia or Tennessee grabs the fourth spot. Even a one-loss Ohio State or Michigan would be a deserving playoff team.

USC (yes, the Trojans are technically still alive for the playoff) and UCLA need Clemson to drop a game or for two of the SEC’s top three to lose two games. These results are unlikely.

Here’s the games left for each contender that could put them at any possible risk down the stretch:

Georgia: Tennessee, at Mississippi State, at Kentucky, possible SEC championship game

Ohio State: at Penn State, Michigan

Michigan: Illinois, at Ohio State

Tennessee: Kentucky, at Georgia, at South Carolina, possible SEC championship game

Clemson: Syracuse, at Notre Dame, possible ACC championship game

Alabama: Mississippi State, at Louisiana State, at Mississippi, possible SEC championship game

Ole Miss and Syracuse can play their way into the conversation by beating Alabama and Clemson, respectively. UCLA and Texas Christian just have to keep winning and root for chaos above them.

Pac-12 reset

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising throws a pass against USC.

The Pac-12 race feels like it’s down to four teams. USC could have eliminated Utah on Saturday, but instead the Utes are very much alive for a trip to Las Vegas.

The winner of UCLA-Oregon takes the driver’s seat. The loser joins USC and Utah (both teams have a bye coming up) with one loss. From there, the two biggest matchups left will be UCLA-USC and Oregon-Utah.

It’s way too early to start looking at the tiebreaker scenarios. The odds of the USC-UCLA winner making it to Vegas to play for the league crown feel pretty good.

Heisman handicapping

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker warms up before a game against Alabama.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is now a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate after his five-touchdown performance against Alabama.

Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud is the perceived favorite, but he’s got a very compelling group of players coming for the coveted award in Hooker, UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Michigan running back Blake Corum.

Alabama’s Bryce Young, last year’s winner, and USC’s Williams stalled their momentum a little bit with Saturday’s defeats.