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Caleb Williams focusing on not building up UCLA rivalry

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•11/17/22

Dynamic quarterbacks, excellent offenses, Pac-12 and College Football Playoff title stakes on the line. This year’s Crosstown Cup has it all. USC is the one making the short trip across LA county this time around, bringing their 9-1 record and No. 7 College Football Playoff ranking to face an 8-2 UCLA team still in the hunt for a Pac 12 title game appearance while trying to spoil the Playoff party for the Trojans.

Suffice to say: a lot on the line at the Rose Bowl Saturday evening. And with such pressure, especially on the road team, how is USC handling the pressure? According to star quarterback Caleb Williams, the team is just focused on going 1-0. Just doing everything they can to maintain normalcy ahead of such a high-stakes matchup.

Here was Williams this week explaining the importance of treating UCLA just like every other game.

“When you start trying to ramp up things, when you start trying to, you know, do things that you haven’t normally done or do things that aren’t regular or anything like that — bad things start to happen. Like I said, we’re treating it like a regular game here.”

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Caleb Williams may be just a sophomore, but he’s a two-year starter on a pair of teams with national championship hopes. The kid has played in a handful of massive matchups already in his collegiate career. He knows that placing an extra emphasis on bigger games does no good. And he’s sharing that message with his teammates.

“One of the first things that we talked about as a group and as a team is focusing on us, not focusing on the social media. Because it’s going to blow it up with the other team and what they have to say or what they’re doing or anything like that. Just focusing on us playing our game and going out there and, you know, trying to help the Trojans go 1-0.”

If every player has Williams’ mindset, the Trojans won’t be impacted by the outsized stakes. QB1 is ready to take care of business and end another week with a 1-0 record.