Caleb Williams’s Interception-Filled First Have USC in Huge Hole at Notre Dame

A disastrous first half for USC star quarterback Caleb Williams left many college football fans in shock on Saturday as the reigning Heisman winner takes on Notre Dame in South Bend.

Williams, a candidate for the coveted trophy again this season, and the No. 10 Trojans (6–0) entered the much-hyped contest looking to make a statement against the No. 21 Fighting Irish (5–2). But USC would, instead, find itself in a 24–6 halftime hole after Williams turned in the first three-interception outing of his standout career in just the first half.

After lofting his first pick under duress on the game’s opening drive, Williams threw two more into heavy coverage on two of the Trojans’ final three drives of the half. To makes matters worse for the junior standout, Notre Dame turned all three INTs into touchdowns on the offense’s subsequent drives.

Incredible start for @FightingIrish with three touchdowns off three Caleb Williams interceptions in the first half.

📺: NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/I4oNYK5SfM
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) October 15, 2023

Williams somewhat salvaged the awful start by leading USC to a second field goal to close the first half, but his stat line left fans with more questions than answers as he went 13-of-22 for 115 yards and the three aforementioned turnovers.

As Williams and the Trojans looked for answers in the locker room, fans and pundits took to social media to express their surprise in what couldn’t have been a worse start for coach Lincoln Riley & Co.:

Caleb Williams throws his third interception... of the first half

(via @NDFootball) pic.twitter.com/sVLUslKEBp
— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) October 15, 2023

This is the QB everyone loses their mind over?
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) October 15, 2023

Three interceptions for Caleb Williams. He is single-handedly losing USC this game right now
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) October 15, 2023

I want to criticize Caleb Williams for throwing three interceptions in the first half of this game, but the man has dudes in his face the second the ball hits his fingertips. USC is a deeply flawed, average football team with a spectacular talent at QB. Nothing more.
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) October 15, 2023

Three Caleb Williams interceptions (and all in the first half) is definitely not what I had on my bingo card 😳
— Kristen Lago (@kristenmlago) October 15, 2023