USC Tumbles To No. 18 After 48-20 Whipping From Notre Dame

The previously No. 10-ranked USC Trojans went south via South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday when they dropped eight spots to No. 18 in the Associated Press top 25 poll. They lost convincingly, 48-20, at No. 21 Notre Dame Saturday.

"Incredibly disappointing," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "Just did not play good enough to win the game."

USC quarterback Caleb Williams was not himself during loss at Notre Dame on Saturday. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Riley pointed to the Trojans (6-1) suffering five turnovers and getting none. USC reigning Heisman Trophy quarterback Caleb Williams had probably the worst game of his career. He threw three interceptions and threw for under 200 yards. Williams showed frustration repeatedly on the sidelines as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 199 yards.

Notre Dame (6-2) jumped six spots to No. 15.

"I still very much believe in this team 1,000 percent," Riley said.

The Trojans' road does not get easier. They will be home next week but that will be against No. 14 Utah (5-1).

The top four spots in the A.P. poll remained unchanged with No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Florida State all winning. Washington jumped from No. 7 to No. 5 after beating No. 8 Oregon, 36-33, in a thriller. Oregon fell to No. 9.

No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Texas and No. 10 North Carolina completed the top 10. The Tar Heels handed No. 25 Miami its second straight loss, 41-31, and the Hurricanes fell out of the poll.

The second 10 featured Alabama, Oregon State, Ole Miss, Utah, Notre Dame, Duke, Tennessee, USC, LSU and Missouri. The 21st through 25th spots saw Louisville, Air Force, Tulane, Iowa and UCLA.