Caleb Williams’ last appearance on a football field didn’t end the way he or USC hoped it would. After the 47-24 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 title game, Williams told reporters he felt a pop in his hamstring early in the game and was significantly hobbled the rest of the way. Williams finished with a respectable stat line, but so much of what made him so unstoppable throughout the regular season was nonexistent.

Williams’ ability to evade pressure and escape would-be tacklers helped make him the Heisman Trophy winner this season. He was the best show on turf when forced to run. But against the Utes, he simply couldn’t run.

As USC prepares for the Cotton Bowl against Tulane, Williams says he’ll be ready to roll.

“I’m doing well,” he told reporters this week. “Hamstring is doing well. I’m confident that I will be out there.”

USC will meet Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, and it’ll need Williams at his best to leave with its first NY6 bowl win since 2016.

The Green Wave (11-2) won the American Athletic Conference, crushing Central Florida in the AAC title game 45-28. Under Willie Fritz, Tulane has been one of the best stories in the country. They were 2-10 last season. Now, the program has its first 10-win season since 1998.

Tulane’s win over UCF in the conference title game helped serve revenge for one of two regular-season losses. The Knights beat the Green Wave on Nov. 12 in part because quarterback John Rhys Plumlee ran 18 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns. In Tulane’s win on Dec. 3, Plumlee ran nine times and lost 7 yards.

Kickoff at the Cotton Bowl is set for 10 a.m. PT (ESPN) on Monday, Jan. 2.