USC Football: Offensive grades in nail-biting win against Oregon State

USC football's offense had a really tough time against Oregon State this past week. Scoring only 17 points, they also only gained 357 total yards. They did come through for that game-winning touchdown in the final minutes of the game, though; proving that they have enough to come through for wins even on days where they have very little to show for.

Still, however, the offense doesn't deserve very good grades for the output they put out on Saturday. Almost every position group was a no-show, and OSU clearly game planned very well against the Trojans in order to get the job done. Unfortunately for them, however, SC's defense was too much for the Beavers to overcome.

Offensive grades in USC football's nail-biting win against Oregon State

USC football's worst position group on offense this week had a few options, but one in particular really ended up being a no-show despite having opportunity to really make their mark on this offense on game day.

Grading USC Football's Tight Ends in nail-biting win against Oregon State: D-

USC Football's Tight Ends were absolute no-shows for the Trojans this week. After catching touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks, they accomplished very little in Week 4. Lake McRee was the only Trojan tight end to come down with a pass. It was for eight yards, but again just one pass. Nobody else on the roster contributed at that position.

This week was an amazing opportunity to succeed for the tight ends this week, as the wide receivers were really struggling as well. QB Caleb Williams had a tough night as well, so the tight ends don't deserve an F. That being said, they weren't getting open a lot on a night where Williams could really have used a safety blanket.

Grading USC Football's Offensive Line in nail-biting win against Oregon State: C-

USC Football's Offensive Line had Williams running for his life for seemingly entire drives at times on Saturday night. They were very disappointing throughout the day. Thankfully, Williams only got sacked twice on the day, but that's not indicative of how the line performed overall. Williams avoided TONS of sacks all game long. It was bad.

The offensive line did well in their run-blocking, as SC rushed for 4.8 yards per carry. They looked awful in their pass-blocking, though, and Williams was very obviously unsettled in the pocket. SC's O-Line did push him over the first down marker on the game-winning drive for a crucial fourth-down conversion, but Williams shouldn't have been pressured out of the pocket and forced to run in the first place.

Grading USC Football Quarterback Caleb Williams in nail-biting win against Oregon State: C-

While it's true that USC Football's Offensive Line was awful in their pass protection on Saturday, Caleb Williams didn't do his part either. He was missing throws even when he did have enough time. He did scamper away from MANY sacks, but still only finished with 27 rushing yards on nine carries. It was a forgettable night overall for Williams, who completed just 16 of 36 passes all game for only 180 yards.

He didn't turn the ball over, which was most certainly important, but he looked uncomfortable all night. In fairness to Williams, the play calling at times was confusing. SC was running the ball well, yet kept going away from it. Also, OSU's defense gave VERY little space to Williams' targets all game long. Still, though, he didn't do a great job of taking advantage of the opportunities and open windows he did have when he had them.

Grading USC Football Wide Receivers in nail-biting win against Oregon State: C

USC Football's Wide Receivers had to try to corral many inaccurate passes from Williams, but it's important to not act like they were open very often. The Beaver defense clamped down on the receivers very impressively. They were physical, and their timing in getting to receivers and contesting at the ball was perfect.

Tahj Washington had six catches for 67 yards. Both those marks led the team. He looked fine, but the rest of the crew was rather disappointing. WR1 Jordan Addison made up for it quite a bit with his game-winning touchdown catch, but was mostly bottled up until that final drive (where he had two catches for 25 yards). No. 2 WR Mario Williams had just one catch.

Grading USC Football Running Backs in nail-biting win against Oregon State: B+

USC football should have ran the ball A LOT more than they did against Oregon State. It was the only thing that was working. Travis Dye toted the rock 19 times for 133 rushing yards. He scored one of just two touchdowns for SC, and posted an unreal seven yards per carry. He was the only back to catch a pass too. It was one catch for nine yards.

The backs don't get an 'A' grade, though, because Dye was the only one who really showed up. Austin Jones had five carries for only 11 yards, and Raleek Brown had three carries for just eight yards. Still, though, Dye provided more than enough for SC to win this game more easily than they did if they would have stuck with him more consistently.

USC football's offense had a clunker in Week 4, but they won it. They found out just how good they are when facing their worst-case scenario this week. Teams only know how good they truly are when they're facing adversity like this, and USC at least did enough in that final drive to win the game. Averaging 42.3 points per game this year, don't expect USC's offense to look this bad next week against Arizona State.