Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans had a 15-point lead in Monday night's Cotton Bowl with just over four minutes left, and shockingly squandered the advantage en route to a 46-45 loss to the Tulane Green Wave.
Williams couldn't even watch the final minute of the contest, instead burying his head in his hand as Tulane scored 16 points in the final minutes to capture the first Cotton Bowl in the school's history.
“It's going to linger,” the superstar quarterback said from AT&T Stadium after the crushing loss. “Last game of the season and when you lose the last game of the season, the offseason hurts. We don't have another game after.”
The Heisman Trophy winner did his part in the game, throwing for 462 yards and five touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for a team that lost back-to-back games to end head coach Lincoln Riley's first season after climbing as high as No. 4 in the polls.
It was a stunning defeat for the University of Southern California, who surrendered 305 rushing yards in the game. The Tulane Green Wave were led by Tyjae Spears, who ran for 205 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries. Spears absolutely torched the Trojans' secondary.
Riley said after the game that it was one of the worst losses he's ever had to stomach in his coaching career, per 247Sports, and Caleb Williams agreed. He was struggling to find words at the podium after the loss.
“I don't know. We just lost. We don't have another game…our job on offense is to score. That's all we can control. You can lead from the sidelines. You can lead from the field. Other than that, you can't control the defense…Yeah, that's about it.”
It's devastation for Williams, Riley and the USC Trojans, but pure elation for the Tulane Green Wave, who will celebrate a first-ever Cotton Bowl win in the school's first appearance.
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