All the press clippings, the gold chains, the NIL deals and the glitz glamour and tradition don't mean a lick. The fancy offense with all the reads and check offs. All the brilliant play calling just isn't working.
Sometimes you get in a game where you need to plow right ahead and knock the other team on their @$$ and win in the mud. It's not pretty. You don't cover the spread. You end up bloody and tired. Probably missing a tooth or two.
This looks like one of those games. USC is going to need to smash OSU in the mouth on both sides of the ball. And win this thing ugly. Wear down the OSU D and run to set up the pass. if that means you use your WR on hitches or end arounds? Reverses? If that means you do pop passes to a guy in motion? That's how you spread OSU out but still run the ball.
Because right now Caleb Williams sucks and expecting him to drop back in the pocket and find people deep downfield isn't going to work.