With the 2022 college football regular season over, the conference championship games are getting closer and closer. Not only that but the conversations for big awards are heating up, especially the Heisman Trophy. In this piece, we'll look at why Caleb Williams should win it.
Differently from previous years, the race for the Heisman has been very open throughout most of the season. Alabama's Will Anderson Jr. and reigning winner Bryce Young entered the year as favorites to take home the award. Ohio State was high in the rankings, and so was its quarterback C.J. Stroud. Then, other players such as Michigan's Blake Corum had breakout seasons, bringing more names to the mix.
One of those players was USC's Williams. A transfer from Oklahoma, the quarterback quickly earned national attention. As the Trojans are in a good position to make it to the College Football Playoff, Williams could benefit from the team's success.
With that being said, here are three reasons why Caleb Williams deserves the Heisman Trophy over other quarterbacks such as Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud.
3. USC's success as a team
The Trojans entered the season as No. 14. While most fans expected the team to compete for the Pac-12 title, few saw USC as a legitimate CFP threat. Fast forward to late November, USC is the highest school from the Pac-12 in the CFP rankings and, based on the results from the final regular season week, could crack the top four.
At 11-1, the Trojans will play the No. 14 Utah Utes in the conference championship game. It will be a rematch on USC's only loss of the year. Should the Trojans will it, they would have one of the best records among the conference champions.
Compared to Bryce Young, the Crimson Tide have two losses and failed to reach the SEC Championship Game. C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes lost their first game of the season on Saturday against rivals Michigan Wolverines and won't play for the Big Ten title.
Since USC as a team is having more success than Williams' opponents, he might benefit from it. Caleb Williams is the only one out of the trio who can win a conference championship. If he plays well, the Trojan's performance will likely be taken into consideration when people vote for the Heisman.
2. Williams leads one of the best offenses in the nation
Part of the team's strong 2022 season has been its elite offense. Without Williams, it is difficult to imagine the Trojans replicating those numbers.
USC has the fifth-best total offense in the country, producing 506.6 yards per game. It is just ahead of Ohio State with 492.7 and 10 spots in front of Alabama's 475.5 yards. Solely through the air, the Trojans produce 322.6 yards a contest, good for No. 6 in the nation.
And those numbers are reflected in the scoreboards. USC has scored at least 30 points in all but one game this season. That includes two matchups when the Trojans had 55 or more points. They are also outplaying some of the best defensive units in the FBS. They scored 40-plus points against teams such as UCLA on the road.
Since the defensive unit allows 405.2 yards per game, barely in the top 100, USC's offense is what is keeping them in the hunt for the CFP. While the defense allows many points, Williams and the offense are overcoming those challenges and leading USC to big wins.
1. He is having just a stellar season of his own
At the end of the day, a Heisman contender needs to pull up great numbers to win the trophy. Luckily for USC fans, Caleb Williams is doing just that in 2022.
In the regular season, Williams completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,712 yards and 34 touchdowns against just three interceptions. He has six games with 300 or more passing yards and two 400-yard performances. His best game came against the Arizona Wildcats when he went 31-for-45 for 411 yards and five touchdowns versus no picks. His season-high came against then-No. 16 UCLA as he passed for 470 yards.
Additionally, he is showing he is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. On the ground, the sophomore has 97 rush attempts for 351 yards and 10 scores.
For comparison, in his freshman season with the Sooners, Williams had 1,912 yards for 21 passing touchdowns and four picks with a completion rate of 64.5%. He also scored six times on the ground.
Williams is showing that he has improved a lot since joining the Trojans. Not only that, he is making history on his own. He is only the second player to record 34 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing scores in the Pac-12. He joins Marcus Mariota as the only two to achieve this feat. Notably, Mariota did it in 2014, the year he won the Heisman.
All things considered, Caleb Williams is in a great position to win the trophy. He is having a fantastic individual season, plus USC is doing better than most people predicted. If the Trojans make it to the CFP, Williams will be closer to the award than ever.
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