Lincoln Riley says Caleb Williams will not play in the Holiday Bowl for USC
USC head coach Lincoln Riley said Monday that standout quarterback Caleb Williams will not play for the Trojans in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl against the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals.
Williams has been widely expected to declare early for the 2024 NFL Draft and this would seemingly be the first step in that process. Nothing has been stated to that effect, but Williams said previously that if he is remaining at USC in 2024, he didn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t play in the Trojans’ bowl game.
The USC quarterback was outstanding for the Trojans in his two seasons in Los Angeles. Williams completed 66.6% of his passes for a USC single-season record 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns against five interceptions on his way to the 2022 Heisman Trophy.
This fall, Williams threw for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns, while running for another 11 scores.
Williams finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the nation in points responsible for (250) and points responsible for per game (20.8), No. 6 in the nation in passing TDs (30) and passing yards (3,633), No. 7 in the nation in passing efficiency (170.1) and passing yards per game (302.8), No. 8 in the nation in total offense (314.6) and No. 10 in the nation in yards per pass attempt (9.36). He is the first FBS player in the last 25 years to throw for 6 passing TDs in a game for multiple schools.
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With Williams out, USC is likely to turn to quarterback Miller Moss against the Cardinals. USC missed an opportunity to get Moss more time on the field this season because they couldn’t put enough teams away early enough. But he did see time in the first three games of the year. Overall, he completed 71.9% of his passes for 309 yards and one score. He also added a 15-yard rushing touchdown against Stanford.
The Trojans could also have true freshman quarterback Malachi Nelson available. Those two will battle to replace Williams as the starter in 2024, though Riley also confirmed that the Trojans will be looking into the transfer portal to potentially add another quarterback to the roster.
