USC Collapses in Cotton Bowl Loss to Tulane

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the USC offense easily outdueled the Tulane defense in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. But they didn’t have enough to overcome a disastrous defensive performance and late special teams mistake in a 46-45 loss to the Green Wave.

Williams was magnificent playing just four weeks removed from a significant hamstring injury he suffered against Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The USC quarterback completed 37-of-52 passes for 462 yards and a Cotton Bowl-record five touchdowns. When a Denis Lynch field goal sailed through with 4:30 remaining in the game, USC took a 45-30 lead and the game looked sewn up for the cardinal and gold.

But two plays and 16 seconds later, Tulane running back Tyjae Spears was in the endzone and the USC collapse was officially on.

Mario Williams muffed the ensuing kickoff out of bounds at the one-yard line. Two plays later, USC running back Austin Jones was tackled in the endzone for a safety with 3:20 remaining in the game. The USC defense allowed conversions on fourth-and-six and fourth-and-ten during Tulane’s final touchdown drive. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt had completed four passes all game heading into that final drive. But he went 4-for-7 for 58 yards on the final drive, hitting tight end Alex Bauman for a 7-yard score with just nine seconds remaining. It was the first time all game Tulane held a lead.

USC’s Defensive Woes

This was a good Tulane offense, but the USC defense was decimated by the Green Wave. Tulane punted twice and fumbled once. It also had two touchdowns drives of just two plays, another one of three plays and scored on five of its six second-half possessions.

Tulane finished with 539 yards of total offense, including 305 rushing yards. Spears rushed for 205 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 12.1 yards per rush.

And the Trojans were gashed repeatedly by big plays. Just 12 of Tulane’s 52 total plays accounted for 443 of its total yards. The Green Wave had pass receptions of 59 yards and 87 yards. And they had rushes go for 32, 40, 47, and 62 yards. There is probably an exact number of tackles missed by the USC defense in this one, but the easiest way to describe it is just to say, “all of them.”

Tulane’s 539 total yards are the second-most allowed by USC this season, only behind the 562 allowed to Utah in the regular-season matchup. It’s the fifth time this season USC allowed more than 500 yards in a game (the third time in the last four games), and the ninth time the Trojans allowed more than 400 yards.

This is also the second game in a row USC held a 14-point lead in the first half and wound up losing the game. The Trojans led Utah 17-3 in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

A Brutal Finish

It’s staggering to think about all the things that had to go wrong for USC over that final 4:30 of game time.

USC’s kickoff coverage unit gave up a 37-yard return after the field goal. The Trojans then get burned on the field play for a 59-yard gain in one-on-one coverage against a safety over the middle.

Mario Williams calls for a fair catch and still muffs the kickoff while running toward the sideline on a ball that very likely either goes out of bounds or into the endzone.

USC allows its eighth tackle for loss on the day on the safety.

The Trojans get sacks on the first two first-down plays of the final Tulane drive and still allow the Green Wave to convert 2nd-and-21 and 2nd-and-14 situations into first downs.

And a bobbled ball in the endzone somehow doesn’t hit the ground and remains in possession of the Tulane receiver for a game-winning touchdown.

It’s remarkable string of events where everything that had to go wrong for USC, did go wrong. The game shouldn’t overshadow the positive steps the Trojans took this season, turning a 4-8 program into an 11-win team. But it’ll take a while to get over just how bad this collapse was. And it should be a game the USC players shake their heads about all offseason.