USC QB Caleb Williams plays through 'popped' hamstring after first quarter

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- It had become obvious as the Pac-12 championship game went on Friday night that USC quarterback Caleb Williams wasn't right.

After rushing for more than 70 yards in the first quarter alone, he limped up to his spot behind the line of scrimmage and, normally invincible in the pocket while eluding pass rushers, he was sacked 7 times in the Trojans' 47-24 loss to Utah.

After the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley revealed that Williams "popped" his hamstring on his long scramble of 59 yards on the Trojans' second possession of the game.

"At one point I was like, 'Are you 50 percent?' I mean, he was not even close to 50 percent. I definitely thought of taking him out -- he wouldn't have let me, he didn't let me. He wouldn't even let me take him out at the end," Riley said. "It was, in terms of guys I've coached at that position, it was maybe the gutsiest performance I've ever seen. I mean, most games wouldn't have even played."

Williams finished 28-of-41 passing for 363 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He didn't come out of the game until the final minute.

"You ever have an old rubber band? Yeah, it kind of felt like that," Williams said. "The rest of the game I felt it, but I had something that I have watched and admire, a person I admire is Kobe [Bryant], and he always said 'The game is bigger than what you're feeling.' So I was in my head encouraging myself that the game was bigger than what I was feeling. I also had a group of guys that was looking at me to out and lead them to victory."

Williams led USC to two touchdowns on its first two drives, throwing a 50-yard bomb to Tahj Washington followed immediately by a 2-yard touchdown to Washington.

And on the next series, he broke off that 59-yard scramble down to the Utah 11 before sliding to a stop. Two plays later he connected with Raleek Brown for a 3-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

On the third series, he hit Mario Williams for a 29-yard completion and Kyron Hudson for 17 yards before the offense eventually stalled at the Utah 3 and the Trojans settled for a 20-yard Denis Lynch field goal and 17-3 lead.

USC didn't score again until there was 10:52 left in the fourth quarter. Williams was noticeably immobile by that point, stretching his legs on the sideline between series and limping as he walked, but he managed to scramble for a painful-looking 14-yard gain on third-and-6 to keep alive that scoring drive, hit Brenden Rice for a 28-yard connection and Mario Williams for a 12-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 27-24.

But the USC defense gave those points right back almost immediately, and on the next Trojans drive, after connecting with Jordan Addison for 48 yards to get well into Utah territory again, Williams was intercepted by safety R.J. Hubert on an ill-advised throw with Hubert lurking behind his intended target Lake McRee.

That effectively sealed the loss.

"He still gave us a chance," Riley said. "We had to change the gameplan, we had to change a lot of things on the fly, and he just kind of kept battling and willed us. And we had a real shot there at the end. ... Shit, that's as gutsy of a performance as you'll ever see."