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3 biggest question marks for USC football heading into 2022

By Jacob Ellerbee

USC Football Coach Lincoln Riley (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
USC Football Coach Lincoln Riley (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Caleb Williams, QB USC Football (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Will the USC Trojans offense live up to the hype in 2022?

USC has one of the best QBs in the country in Caleb Williams, who followed Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to the sunny skies of southern California.

The 6’1″, 215 lb Washington, D.C. native threw for 1,912 yards for the Sooners last season. He completed 64.5% of his pass attempts, recorded 21 touchdown passes, six rushing touchdowns, and threw just four interceptions.

The crazy part is almost all of those stats were recorded in just seven starts. Many will remember that Williams did not start until Oklahoma played TCU in the middle of October after Riley benched QB Spencer Rattler.

Williams is not going to be going at it alone, either. He’s going to have plenty of weapons to use after Riley worked the transfer portal during the winter and spring.

Joining Williams is the 2021 Biletnikoff winner, Jordan Addison. The former Pittsburgh Panther was the best receiver in all of college football thanks in part to stellar play from his former QB Kenny Pickett.

Addison caught 100 passes, 17 of which were for a touchdown. He recorded 1,593 yards and even returned a dozen punts for the Panthers. Addison is simply electric and will pair nicely with another Heisman-contending quarterback.

And then there’s the running back position, where the Trojans are absolutely stacked. The team added RB Travis Dye and RB Austin Jones to the team.

Dye is coming in from Oregon, where he had one of the most prolific rushing careers for the Ducks. He’s fifth all-time in rushing yards at Oregon, with 3,111 yards on 521 carries in four years.

Also joining the squad is Austin Jones, fresh off a three-year career at Stanford. He’s totaled 1,155 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns for the Cardinal.

Both running backs are on the Doak Walker Award Watchlist to start the season.

Williams, Addison, Dye, and Jones provide the Trojans with the most formidable offense in all of college football— at least on paper.

Can Riley put it all together into a cohesive package and make it all work? If he can, there won’t be many teams that will be able to slow this offense.

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