USC had one job. A Pac-12 Championship victory at Allegiant Stadium would ensure the school’s College Football Playoff (CFP) spot; instead, the Trojans were firsthand witnesses to their own demise at the hands of a Utah team that had beaten them for the second time in two months. USC entered Las Vegas as a top-four team in the nation, and by a score of 47-24, they with their tails between their legs and championship dreams extinguished. All they needed was a win, and they failed in epic fashion.

Though the school’s return to the highest echelon of college football will have to wait another year, USC’s title prospects are even stronger in light of their adversity this season. Coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2021, the Trojans adjusted their ranks to accommodate seasoned Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley and his star quarterback transfer Caleb Williams. The pair’s introduction from the University of Oklahoma would prove crucial in the cultivation of a formidable side that turned the program’s trajectory on its head.

“Every single day of my life, I am grateful for all USC has done for me,” Rohan Hardas, a recent USC graduate said. “But nothing compares to convincing Lincoln and Caleb to come to SoCal.”

Hardas is one of a contingent of South Bay-based USC alumni who traversed pouring rain to watch the Pac-12 Championship from The Brews Hall in Torrance. Amidst a sea of red and yellow jerseys, he opted for a more casual look, donning a dark hoodie and sweatpants.

“I literally just got off a plan at LAX an hour ago, and I needed to find a spot to watch the game at,” Hardas said. “Even though my flight got delayed twice, there was no way I was missing this.”

To say Hardas and other Trojans are fans of the team’s new coach and quarterback would be an understatement. Riley and Williams’ influence on the program has been bountiful, and as USC football regroups following an impressive 11-2 season, the team’s potential is reminiscent to Trojan dominance of old. Williams’ stardom has shone the brightest of all, beating out three other elite quarterbacks to claim the 2022 Heisman Trophy, college football’s most coveted individual award.

“I’m not even using hyperbole when I say with my own two eyes, I have never seen a college football quarterback be this good,” Hardas said. “There’s not a throw on the football field he can’t make, and he’s got great size and arm strength. You couldn’t ask for a more complete quarterback.”

USC players famously won the prestigious Heisman three out of four times in their dominant winning stretch throughout the early to mid-2000s, and Williams is the first Trojan to earn the honor since Reggie Bush in 2005. The Heisman is the cherry on top of a scintillating season for Williams, and the USC faithful have welcomed his success with open arms.

“We moved to the next level in recruiting when we landed Caleb Williams,” said USC alumnus and avid college football follower Lawrence Wimsatt. “Our program took on a quarterback for the future who can do it all, and what I love most is his demeanor to represent our school. He is the embodiment of what USC is all about.”

The Trojans are no strangers to having iconic play callers behind center. With one of the strongest quarterback lineages in the nation, USC has bred natural talents like Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart into seasoned professionals in the National Football League. But every star quarterback who has donned a red and yellow uniform has only been as good as their head coach. That’s where Riley comes into the fray—his special bond with Williams is key to the team’s prosperity.

“In modern football, it comes down to two things: coach and quarterback. Praise Lincoln and Caleb’s successes as much as you diminish their failures,” Hardas said. “Lincoln will be the first to admit that he got outcoached or that our team was undisciplined, and Caleb will put all the blame on himself despite throwing for 400 yards and three touchdowns in the conference championship. Their shared mindset is so refreshing because we haven’t had leadership like that.”

Though Riley and Williams are inspired representatives of what’s to come for USC, the true key to the Trojans’ winning mentality lies in an unwavering fanbase that has remained loyal for decades in hopes of reliving the glories of the past.

“I became a USC fan because I married into it,” said Nicole Wimsatt, wife of Lawrence Wimsatt. “From when we started dating, we would watch college ball all day, every Saturday at Legends in Long Beach. I’ve never screamed so much at anything as when we went to triple overtime against Stanford in 2011. I remember Lawrence looking at me and saying I was converted, and from that moment I really was. From there, I was done.”

There’s a certain quality to the current iteration of Trojan football that the past 15 years have lacked: a sense of camaraderie. Spectacle is appreciated, but what separates USC’s current roster from those of other institutions is their unbreakable sense of unity.

“With previous regimes, it was always about other things. We didn’t have a solidified team identity,” Lawrence Wimsatt said. “This year you can tell the players and staff really care for each other, and the university as a whole has bought into our coach and his philosophy.”

For nearly half of the Pac-12 Championship game, Williams was hobbling just to stay upright after he suffered a leg injury from a sack in the third quarter. His dedication to finishing the game he had started symbolized how, even in the wake of their most crushing defeat in years, USC remained committed to excellence. That night was one to forget, but the coming years will be ones to remember.

“The kid turned 20 two weeks ago. Even on his last legs, the moment never looked too big for him, and he put his body on the line when there was no shot at winning,” Hardas said. “That kind of mentality builds dynasties. The sky’s the limit for this team, and there’s nothing they can’t achieve. None of us expected perfection, and you have to roll with the punches and see what you get on the next side. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

The fighting spirit of USC has transcended generations for well over a century. The youngest of fans embrace the school’s proud history, one that older supporters have lived through and intently spectated for years. The very qualities of perseverance, togetherness, and pride are prerequisites to this ideal of Trojan greatness both on and off the field.

“It’s incredible how much I embrace our cry to ‘Fight On’ when I put on my jersey. Even my kids can’t help but yell ‘Fight On’ when they see other people in USC gear,” Nicole Wimsatt said. “Being a Trojan is all about following through with everything you do. I don’t know of another network that runs deeper and truer.”

Under the leadership of a veteran coach and his lethal field marshal, USC will wait patiently for their chance to reclaim college football supremacy in a year’s time. Though they’ve lost the immediate battle, the Trojan War has just begun.

“I have never had a moment where I have looked back and considered anything other than greatness for USC,” Hardas said. “We win together, we lose together, and we lift each other up. Trojan family always looks out for each other, and now the college football landscape better be on the lookout for us.”