Caleb Williams, the impetus for the Trojans’ comeback season, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, becoming USC the first school to win the most prestigious player of the year award in college football eight times.
Williams garnered 544 first-place votes and 2,031 total points to handily defeat TCU quarterback Max Duggan (1,420).
C.J. Stroud of Ohio State finished third in the vote after finishing fourth last season. The quarterback for Georgia, Stetson, placed fourth. On December 31, the top-ranked Bulldogs will face the fourth-ranked Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff.
On New Year’s Eve, Duggan and the third-ranked Horned Frogs will face the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines in the other CFP semifinal.
Williams and No. 8 USC fell short of the Pac-12 title and a position in the playoff, but it was a renaissance for a college football blue blood that has had only brief periods of success over the past decade.
In 2005, USC’s running back Reggie Bush became the second Trojan in a row to win the Heisman Trophy. In 2004, Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy and went on to win the national title.
Bush’s Heisman victory, the Trojans’ eighth, was eventually annulled due to NCAA violations, which marked the beginning of USC’s decline.
Each of Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Oklahoma has won seven Heismans.
»Caleb Williams, quarterback for USC, wins the Heisman Trophy«