Caleb Williams shares emotional embrace with his mom following USC's 3rd loss

With a 52-42 loss to Washington on Saturday night in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC and Caleb Williams‘ season slid from merely disappointing and closer to being an outright failure for a team with College Football Playoff aspirations. It was the Trojans’ third loss in four games, sending them to a 6-3 mark on the year.

And following yet another gutting loss, one that likely spells the end of much meaningful college football for the star quarterback and ends his hopes of repeating as a Heisman winner, all Williams could do was cry. He made his way over to the stands, where his mother, Dayna, embraced him.

Leaning over the railing, with a piece of paper concealing his face from the TV cameras and the world, Williams sobbed, his body shaking with each heave.

Caleb Williams shares an emotional moment with his family after the loss pic.twitter.com/4WJemvAb4r

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 5, 2023

For a player who has seen such highs and created such magic on the field for the better part of three seasons now, who has dazzled and delighted with his mind-bending off-schedule throws and played with a penchant for punishing defenses when they’re at their breaking point, the one-month free fall evidently overwhelmed.

And after Williams poured himself into trying to pull USC to another win — he went 27-of-35 for 312 yards and three touchdowns — and came up short, all he could think to do was take a moment to commiserate with his mother.

USC was without a key offensive weapon on Saturday night

Running back MarShawn Lloyd wasn’t seen during warmups, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje, throwing his status for the game into question.

Lloyd was later ruled out, according to WeAreSC’s Erik McKinney.

Lloyd is one of the top players on the USC offense after transferring from South Carolina. He leads the Trojans with 766 rushing yards — over 500 more than the second-leading rusher — to go with a team-high eight touchdowns. His absence would be a big one as USC goes against a Washington defense that ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 135 rushing yards allowed per game.

USC had a tough task against Washington. The Huskies possess a high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy favorite Michael Penix Jr., and Lincoln Riley knew how powerful that unit can be. He discussed the amount of respect he has for UW during a Zoom call this week.

“The quarterback has really good command of what they’re doing with him,” Riley said. “You can tell he and the staff are really in sync. He’s very decisive with the ball. He’s not much of a runner and does a good job getting the ball out of his hands and playing to their strengths. Which is getting the ball to the talented playmakers that they have.”