Lincoln Riley provides injury update on Caleb Williams, status for Cotton Bowl

After it was reported that USC quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, it’s worth wondering whether he may be done for the season.

The Trojans lost 47-24 to Utah in the conference title game, ending their College Football Playoff chances and pitting them against Tulane in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2. With a little less than a month for Williams to heal up, coach Riley expressed “hope” that the quarterback will be ready to roll for that matchup.

“He’s got a significant hamstring injury,” Riley said according to USC team reporter Keely Eure. “It’s probably good we’re not playing for the next 2-3 weeks. We’ll rehab him hard and hope to have him to have him available.”

After the Pac-12 title game, Riley revealed that Caleb Williams was “not even 50%” after suffering the hamstring injury in the first quarter. In spite of this, he played the entire game and finished 28-of-41 passing for 363 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

If he doesn’t play in the Cotton Bowl, Williams will end his season with 4,075 yards passing, 37 touchdowns and four interceptions in addition to 372 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. He is expected to be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and has the best odds of any player to win the award according to Vegas Insider.

Williams was in his first season at USC after following Riley from Oklahoma this offseason. A sophomore, he will be back for at least one more season of college football in 2023 before having the option to enter the NFL Draft. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Williams sit out to get as healthy as he can as the Trojans set their sights on making the Playoff next season.