Caleb Williams explains importance of winning Pac-12 in USC's final year: 'Let's make history'

USC will enter its final season in the Pac-12 before heading to the Big Ten as the favorite to hoist the league trophy. With that in mind, Trojan QB Caleb Williams has every intention of leaving the conference with a bang.

Williams spoke on SportsCenter today while at Pac-12 Media Days about his team’s last shot at a Pac-12 Championship. He said it’s a big deal because of how many league titles, 37 to be exact, they have to their name. Now, with a chance to win their 38th before heading out east, Williams’ only focus is on making history.

“That’s huge,” Williams said. “There’s no pressure added or anything like that. But it’s huge just for the simple fact that USC has been, like you said, dominant in this league. And so to go out with a bang and go out on top is important.”

“Whether we don’t or whether we do? It’s going to be history. So let’s make history,” said Williams. “The good part about it is us going out on top.”

USC hasn’t won a Pac-12 title since 2017. Williams had a shot to end that drought last year when they made the championship game along with Utah. However, the Utes handed them a blowout loss by a score of 47-24 in Las Vegas to win their second straight and to keep the Trojans out of the College Football Playoff.

USC is going to face stiff competition to try and earn a berth for the Pac-12 Championship again in 2023. Even so, Williams is motivated to bring titles to Los Angeles with this one being extra significant due to the program’s realignment within the Big Ten for next fall.

Williams reveals the biggest challenge of winning back-to-back Heisman Trophies

USC QB Caleb Williams wants to make a whole lot of history during what’s seen as his final college season. However, he realizes that the best way to do so is to place his focus on the success of the Trojans first and foremost.

Williams addressed the possibility of winning back-to-back Heisman Trophies, which has only been done once before in the history of the sport, on SportsCenter while at Pac-12 Media Days. With how difficult the feat is, he understands that his chance lies in leading USC to wins week after week. Once that’s done, he’ll let the personal rewards come from there.

“It’s just being yourself” said Williams. “Everybody always says it’s hard to do something twice, especially back-to-back. So you’ve got to focus on the main thing, which is winning games.”

“You want to go out there and win every game and go 1-0 each week. If you do the math and you end up being 15-0? You get to hoist a trophy that you really want,” Williams said. “But, also, when you do something like that? It also makes it a lot easier to go out and then your self-accolades and self-goals are more easily accomplished.”