Upset in the cards? Utah takes lead as Rising tosses second TD pass

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11:00 PM ET

The final weekend of the college football season is here and the stakes in the games could not be higher.

There is legitimate College Football Playoff drama. The top four teams in the ranking have one more game to secure or solidify their spots and two powerhouses are lurking to potentially leap into the semifinals.

The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs play the No. 14 LSU Tigers in the SEC title game. The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines face the Purdue Boilermakers for the Big Ten crown. The No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs meet the No. 10 Kansas State Wildcats in the Big 12 championship and the No. 4 USC Trojans go against the No. 11 Utah Utes for the Pac-12 title.

The Bulldogs are likely locked into a spot no matter what happens in Atlanta. Any other slip-ups, however, would put the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide back in the mix.

Three of the top five players in ESPN’s Heisman Trophy poll will be in action. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the current betting favorite to win the award, starts the action Friday night. In his first meeting against the Utes, he threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns. However, the Trojans suffered their lone loss of the season in that game. The matchup Friday in Las Vegas could be a chance at revenge and another Heisman moment for Williams.

Here are the top plays, biggest moments and playoff takeaways from championship weekend.

SECOND HALF

USC finally finds an answer

Rising takes a big hit

Williams hurting?

Caleb Williams has been favoring his left side and limping during the second half of the game. It’s unclear whether Williams was hurt on his long run in the first quarter, but the USC QB has not looked right since. Williams has been unable to get out of the pocket as he’s wont to do and is not putting as much strength into his throws. The 20-year-old QB has also been riding the stationary bike on the sidelines, but he’s staying in the game.

Utah takes the lead

FIRST HALF: Utah 17, USC 17

It’s the Caleb Williams show in Vegas. The Heisman frontrunner began Friday night’s game for the conference title right where he left off against Notre Dame.

Williams started the game with a 10-yard run for a touchdown, completed a fourth and short on his own and then dropped a rainbow to Tahj Washington for 50 yards off his back foot while jumping.

He one-upped himself a drive later, as he kept the ball on a fake handoff, spun around one defender, stiff-armed yet another and took the ball 59 yards on his own. The run left Williams so out of breath that he had to take a delay of game call on the ensuing play. It didn’t matter: Williams found Raleek Brown in the end zone for six a few plays later.

At the half, Williams totaled 239 total yards and two touchdowns. Yet all of his stats and his highlights have not been enough to put USC ahead. The Utes responded with back-to-back touchdown drives late in the second quarter. — Paolo Uggetti

Utes find the end zone

Trophy-worthy run, 4th-down TD

Utah kicked a field goal on its first drive, but USC rolled right back down the field. Williams made several defenders miss on a 59-yard run then found Raleek Brown for a 3-yard score.

USC strikes quickly

A big play set up USC’s first score. On the 75-yard scoring drive, Williams accounted for 70 of those yards.

Fans check in

Arrivals

This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.
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