Caleb Williams becomes first USC quarterback in 25 years to rush for three touchdowns

Caleb Williams made history for USC against Notre Dame on Saturday, becoming the first Trojans quarterback in 25 years to rush for three touchdowns.

If you were mesmerized by his play like many were, you may not have noticed, but Williams absolutely stuffed the stat sheet against the Fighting Irish with 267 rushing yards and three trips to the end zone.

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WHAT A PERFORMANCE 🤩

Caleb Williams is the first @uscfb quarterback in 25 years to score three rushing touchdowns in a game! pic.twitter.com/YuUbkY6KCH

— ESPN (@espn) November 27, 2022

“WHAT A PERFORMANCE (star-eyes emoji),” tweeted ESPN. “Caleb Williams is the first @uscfb quarterback in 25 years to score three rushing touchdowns in a game!”

It was a Heisman statement for Williams. A College Football Playoff statement for USC. USC is back, and Williams is their leader.

Now, the Trojans simply have one more game to win and they’ll likely clinch their Playoff berth. As for Williams, he’s put some ground between himself and the rest of the nation as far as the Heisman goes, taking advantage of many other contenders watching their season fall off the rails.

Nevertheless, it’ll be more than deserved when Caleb Williams holds that trophy. The man is a star, and he’ll only continue to shine bright.

Caleb Williams reveals what championship opportunity means, why he did Heisman pose

Caleb Williams came to USC this offseason with championship aspirations. With December just around the corner, now the Trojans quarterback has a chance to see that vision come to fruition.

After finishing 4-8 last season, USC ended the first regular season under coach Lincoln Riley with an 11-1 record and will compete for a Pac-12 title next week. Speaking with ESPN’s Holly Rowe following a 38-27 against Notre Dame on Saturday, Williams reflected on the journey of this season and how the Trojans were able to turn things around so quickly.

“It means everything,” he said. “And it doesn’t mean everything because we’re going to Vegas for a championship opportunity and possibly something after. It means the most because of all the hard work that these guys have put in. All these guys that have been here that haven’t had this opportunity and how much they trusted and believed in coach and what he has brought in and then also me being back there behind him, supporting them in every way possible. It means a lot to me.”

Williams has been one of the best players in the country this season, and that continued to be the case against the Fighting Irish. He finished the game 18-of-22 passing for 232 yards and a touchdown, but did most of his scoring on the ground where he totaled 35 yards rushing and three touchdowns. 

But perhaps his most impressive run of the day didn’t even go for a touchdown. During the run, which happened in the fourth quarter, Williams made his way all around several Notre Dame defenders, juking them out on his way to a first down and much more.

“Just go make a play,” Williams said of what was going through his mind in that moment. “The O-linemen did an awesome job and the defense, they dropped back and played some coverage. The route tree that we had wasn’t working and I tried to scramble and make something happen.”

After one of his touchdown runs, Williams even busted out the Heisman Trophy pose. He is considered one of the favorites to win the award at the moment, but showed humility after the game when asked about that moment.

“Nothing tonight I felt like was Heisman,” he said. “It was just, my teammates kept telling me to do it so I ended up just doing it on one of the touchdowns.”

Caleb Williams and USC are set to compete in the Pac-12 Championship Game at 5 p.m. PT on Friday in Las Vegas. If they can win that one, they’ll have a great shot to make it in the College Football Playoff, especially after a couple of big upsets this weekend.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.