ARLINGTON, TX – Forty-eight hours before kicking off the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium vs the No.16th ranked Tulane Green Wave, will the 10th ranked USC Trojans salvage what has been a disappointing season.
USC, ranked as high as fourth in the College Football Playoff standings after Ohio State lost 45-24 to bitter archrival, Michigan in Columbus, stood on the precipice of making the CFP Playoffs vs. Utah in the PAC-12 title game in Las Vegas. Thanks to 310 passing yards and three touchdowns from QB Cameron Rising, the underdog Utes beat the favored Trojans for the second time in less than a month in a 47-23 defeat. Utah also defeated USC 43-42 at Eccles, despite 381 passing yards and five touchdowns from the eventual Heisman Trophy winner in QB Caleb Williams.
Now, roughly 1,400-plus miles away and on the cold plains of North Texas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, USC faces a very determined and underrated Tulane squad fresh off a 45-28 romp over Big-12 bound UCF in the American Athletic Conference title game at Yulman Stadium.
USC will be without star wideout in former Pitt transfer Jordan Addison, as he is skipping the game to prepare for the 2023 NFL Draft and is nursing an ankle injury. For the year, the former Biletnikoff Award winner led USC with 59 catches for 875 yards.
The Trojans will also be without leading rusher Travis Dye, who led the team with 891 yards while averaging 6.1 yards a carry. The Trojans will also be short-handed up front with first-team All-America guard Andrew Vorhees opting out for the NFL Draft while rehabbing from an injury and third-team center Brett Neilon.
While leading sacks leader, first-team All-America defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu, will play after registering 12½ sacks and 21 tackles for loss, the biggest question down in Arlington throughout the week is the availability of the aforementioned Williams, who is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the Pac-12 title game loss vs. Utah.
If Williams can someone manage to play, he will face a fully-healthy Green Wave team that has reported no injuries and per head coach Willie Fritz, everyone will play who played vs. Central Florida.
While on paper, USC has the bigger brand name, is one of the most storied programs in college football, and has the reigning best player of the year in Williams. If there is a team that is built to beat a high-power Lincoln Riley offense, it is Tulane. That and the fact that they are the healthier team playing closer to home and coming off of a conference title win, as opposed to a less-than-interested Trojan team down four keey players, and still smarting after it’s second straight loss to the same team.
This game will be closer than it should be–and likely decided–late in what should be a tight game.