Lincoln Riley opens up on how Caleb Williams has handled struggles

USC has likely lost any hope of making a College Football Playoff berth during the Caleb Williams era following last week’s 34-32 loss against Utah.

Much has been made on his future in Los Angeles during the final stretch of the season — but head coach Lincoln Riley believes Williams is firmly committed to overcoming his struggles as a Trojan.

“Before the season, you don’t necessarily know what all the challenges are going to be,” Riley said on Thursday. “You just know that they’re going to be there and that they’re going to be different than what you’ve experienced before. That’s why you build yourself up to be as ready for those challenges as you can. He’s obviously faced with some challenges like we all have and I think that he’s learned from it and continues to grow.

“He was in, what I thought, was a better frame of mind on Saturday. He played much better than he played the week before and gave us some opportunities. Mentally, I thought he stayed into it, but there were certainly a few things that he’d like to have back over the last few weeks, like we all have.”

Over the past two games, Williams has thrown for 455 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. During the previous six games to begin the season, Williams had 1,822 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and one interception.

Not everything can be blamed on Williams, but the future top NFL draft choice is in the midst of the worst stretch of his collegiate career, and it all happened so fast.

“There’s such a fine line in this game. Eric Gentry‘s finger goes forward another inch, and we’re sitting here feeling different right now,” Riley continued. “You could have played all 100+ snaps of the game the same way and feel completely different. Honestly, even going back to Notre Dame, I felt like a lot of times there in the third or fourth quarter that we were one play away from being right there. It’s a fine line.

“So, I think for Caleb it’s been a test of patience and hanging in there just like it has been for a lot of our program right now. He’s in a good head space. He wants to lead these guys, he wants to play better, he wants to win like we all do. [Williams] is very motivated to play well during this closing stretch.”

USC is scheduled to play Cal on the road for its Week 9 matchup. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET live on the Pac-12 Network.