Brian Fisher
college football writer
SAN DIEGO — In each of the past two seasons, Miller Moss has spent nearly every day in Caleb Williams’ shadow.
The USC sophomore has been the perfect backup quarterback, carrying the Heisman Trophy winner from last season’s highs to various lows during this year’s disappointing 7-5 regular season.
While his playing time has been mostly fleeting due to either blowouts or rare injuries, many others would have quickly put their name in the transfer portal and found a clearer path to a starting job. He’s stuck in Lincoln Riley’s program when he would have chosen to.
But good things come to those who wait, as Moss led the Trojans to a 42-28 victory over ACC runner-up Louisville in his first collegiate start in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night.
With Williams on the sidelines in very expensive street clothes with an eye on the potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Moss made his mark with pinpoint passes and some notable throws. He shined, and few outside the coaching staff knew of his abilities. Overall, the young signal-caller completed 23 of 33 passes for 372 yards and six touchdowns, providing a good springboard for a team that ended the regular season with three straight losses.
was there many There’s been a lot of speculation about who will replace Williams at the quarterback position in Los Angeles, but given what Miller showed at Petco Park in the team’s bowl game, the solution seems a little bright. It may have been a natural solution to have Williams behind him. Always a signal caller.
Here are some additional thoughts from San Diego after the Trojans’ blowout win over the Cardinals:
Miller Moss throws his 6th TD pass.
game play
Almost all of Moss’s touchdown throws can be picked off given the amount of skill shown on both ends of each play, but special consideration needs to be given to the first touchdown throw. Much of that was due to receiver Taj Washington, who entered the game despite declaring for the draft a few weeks ago, zig-zagged and zoomed into the end zone for USC’s first points. Made the most of something.
Miller Moss connects with Taj Washington for 17-yard TD
Washington had seven catches for 99 yards and two scores on the night, pushing his season total over 1,000 yards.
turning point
Given the amount of scoring that happened Wednesday night, you wouldn’t think two punts would be a significant turning point in a college football game, but this is a 2023 postseason game, and all The bet goes wrong and something strange happens.
The key sequence began early in the second quarter when Louisville’s Jeff Brohm elected to send his punt team out from the USC 36-yard line. It would have been a pretty long fourth-down attempt, but given the field position and the fact that this was a bowl game, many Cardinals fans scratched their heads at the thought of punting in plus territory like that. That’s for sure. The ball passed through a very short end zone near the third base line at Petco Park for a touchdown, and the Trojans took just five plays to go 80 yards for the touchdown and take their first lead of the game.
While the decision by Louisville’s offense to punt again after a three-and-out was much more understandable, the execution was not. USC’s Kyron Hudson made a successful kick through poor protection and partially blocked a punt to attack the red zone. Two plays later, the sophomore finally made a spectacular touchdown catch in heavy traffic, becoming the player to take advantage of special teams play. In addition to exciting the crowd, this sequence gave the Trojans his two-point lead and nearly all the momentum as they found the end zone on four consecutive drives.
Main status
Miller’s six touchdown passes (four of them in the first half) set a Holiday Bowl record and tied for the most by a Pac-12 player in a bowl game. Not bad for a start since high school.
What’s next for USC?
Big Ten. It’s strange to think about it, but the Holiday Bowl will be the last time the iconic Cardinal and gold uniforms will have the Pac-12 logo on the jersey sleeve, as school conference changes scheduled for the summer become a reality. became. Much of Lincoln Riley’s recruiting and bowl preparation over the past few weeks has focused on this change, but the truth is that the Trojans will now identify themselves as a Big Ten program in virtually every activity. Now you can start calling.
What’s next for Louisville?
Jeff Brohm’s debut at his alma mater was a huge success by any measure, but much of the coaching staff’s focus is on how to further elevate the program after the final three games of 2023 didn’t go as planned. It’s going to take a lot of concentration. The Cardinals have a more manageable schedule heading into next season, and in the era of the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff, they have every right to see expanding the field as an opportunity given the returns from a team that made it to the ACC title game. There is enough. Louisville has had several high-profile players named through the transfer portal frequently in recent weeks, and could be looking to acquire some of them as they enter their second year under Coach Brohm and expectations have risen significantly. There is no doubt that there are.
Brian Fisher is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has covered college athletics for nearly 20 years for media outlets including NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and Yahoo!. Sports and his NFL.com and more. Follow @BryanDFischer on Twitter.
college football trends
Enjoy more college football Follow your favorites to stay informed about games, news and more