After Caleb Williams put up 503 total offensive yards in leading USC to a momentous 48-45 win over rival UCLA last weekend, coach Lincoln Riley was asked what kind of a Heisman moment it was for his quarterback.

He should know -- he coached 2017 winner Baker Mayfield, 2018 winner Kyler Murray and 2019 runner-up Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma.

But Riley has been careful to keep the focus on the primary goals at stake for his team.

"Having coached some guys like that in the past, one of the things that guys that win individual awards, whether it's a Heisman or a Biletnikoff or a Mackey or whatever it is, you don't focus on that. Like, we never think about that. You're just trying to win each week for your team, and those are the guys that find a way to do it," Riley said. "He's been one of the best players in the country this year, he's played really well, and all those things, it's got to stay about the ball. That's the most important thing, I know that's the most important thing to him and all of us.

"So if any of those things come to fruition, that's great, but those are kind of byproducts, right? It's not why we're here. I know I can speak for him and say that's not why he's here."

All of that is fair, but so too is talking head-on about the fact that Williams is now the overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman entering No. 6 USC's game with No. 15 Notre Dame on Saturday, after Ohio State and QB C.J. Stroud lost 45-23 to Michigan earlier in the day.

USC also has been pretty overt this week while launching its social media push for Williams' Heisman campaign this week.

Williams' teammates have been outspoken about it too, for that matter.

"That early interception, he just kept calm, kept poise. He's going to keep making plays, he doesn't back down," center Brett Neilon said after the win over UCLA. "That's just the type of competitor he is. ... That's just who he is and he's been doing that all year. He should definitely be in the Heisman conversation."

Said wide receiver Michael Jackson III: "We knew before the season started he was that guy. He's proven himself so far this season, he's had a great season so it's no question he that he should be [the] Heisman."

And left guard Andrew Vorhees: "Just incredible. I think that's why people are throwing around that word -- that H word. Incredible football player. He's Superman out there sometimes."

Aside from -- or right on par with -- Riley, there is no bigger reason than Williams that USC is 10-1, No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, headed to the Pac-12 championship game next week and pushing for one of those four playoff berths entering a pivotal showdown with No. 15 Notre Dame on Saturday in the Coliseum.

As for the Heisman picture ...

Williams has passed for 3,480 yards, 33 TDs and 3 INTs and rushed for 316 yards and 7 TDs while helping to elevate USC from 4-8 last year to the program's current heights. He was 32-of-43 passing for 470 yards, 2 TDs and an uncharacteristic pick while also rushing for 33 yards and a TD in that win last weekend -- the biggest game of the season to date against the Trojans' ranked crosstown rival.

Before that, he had a streak of four straight games with 5 combined passing/rushing touchdowns, and over these last five games he's averaging 405.6 total yards per game (including 378 passing). And that includes the blowout win over Colorado in which he didn't play the fourth quarter.

In USC's only loss of the season, that 43-42 heartbreaker at Utah last month, Williams played one of his best games of his career (381 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs, 57 rushing yards). In his only truly off game this year, at Oregon State, the sophomore QB nonetheless led the game-winning touchdown drive in the final minutes and threw a perfect pass for the decisive score.

Stroud, meanwhile, is having a nice season at Ohio State, like every other quarterback who has led the Buckeyes in recent memory, but he threw 2 interceptions in the most important game of the season Saturday (along with 349 yards and 2 TDs. He also completed just 10 of 26 passes for 76 yards with 79 rushing yards and no touchdowns three games ago in a 21-7 win over Northwestern, and last week he had a quiet 241 passing yards and 1 TD in a 43-30 win over Maryland that was tight much of the game. He's passed for 3,340 yards, 37 touchdowns and 6 interceptions overall in 12 games.

Now it's Williams' turn to try to make another statement that could all but seal the award for him.

What is not up for debate, meanwhile, is that Williams is the MVP of this incredible Trojans season and deserves to be mentioned among the best QBs to ever come through the program.

'Caleb's a tremendous player, obviously a tremendous player, but off the field he's even more of an incredible person. Just super proud of him and his leadership for this team," Vorhees said. "Talk about just a dude you can count on for anything, a guy who genuinely cares, is supportive in every way, really tries to be a guy who brings everybody together. You just see it across positions groups -- he'll hang out with the O-line, he'll hang out with DBs, he'll hang out with receivers, whatever. It doesn't matter to him. It's jsut a brotherhood. It's really awesome to see that."

Like Neilon mentioned, USC fell behind 14-0 last week in that must-win game at UCLA, but Williams remained steady before responding with the best game of his young career.

"He's just a gamer, he's a winner. I've played with so many great quarterbacks, and he's one of the ones where you go out and have no worries no matter what the score is," wide receiver Kyle Ford said. "Like, we were down 14-0 and he's just still laughing on the sideline -- like in a good way, not like messing around. He's like, 'We're good.' So I think that more than anything -- you go out with a certain confidence with him."