USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Lincoln Riley appears to point finger at Caleb Williams

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 10/18/23

USC suffered a disappointing loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night, and head coach Lincoln Riley is not exactly defending his quarterback over the poor performance.

Caleb Williams had one of the worst games of his college career in the 48-20 loss to the Fighting Irish. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner went 23-of-37 with 199 passing yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

On Tuesday, a reporter asked Riley if USC’s wide receivers had trouble separating from Notre Dame defenders. Riley seemed to point the finger at Williams.

Lincoln Riley: “The reality is, you go back and look at that tape and all three of those turnovers, for example, there’s wide-open people running around. We gotta finish those plays. We had some opportunities to make a few plays, but we didn’t.” https://t.co/aCb0ffin8j

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) October 18, 2023

“Separation really wasn’t much of a problem,” Riley said. “We had good separation. … The reality is, you go back and look at that tape and all three of those turnovers for example, there’s wide-open people running around. We gotta finish those plays. We had some opportunities to make a few plays, but we didn’t.”

Riley specifically referred to the three interceptions and said receivers were “wide open” on those plays. It is rare to hear him criticize Williams that blatantly, so perhaps he was trying to send a message to the quarterback and the entire team.

Williams has been getting it from all angles after the Notre Dame loss. At least the criticism from his coach was not nearly as harsh as the way a fan trolled him on the field in South Bend.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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