CORVALLIS, Ore. — Through three and a half quarters against Oregon State, quarterback Caleb Williams looked nothing like he did in USC’s first three games. His throws were not crisply on target but often at his receivers’ feet or over their heads. And the Trojans fell behind as a result.

But head coach Lincoln Riley had a simple message for the quarterback as the game wound on.

“I said we’ve been here before,” Riley said. “Some days you’re not going to be at your best or things are not going to go your way. And how you respond to those moments are what separate you.”

Williams responded to that challenge and provided the game-winning drive that USC needed to escape Corvallis with a 17-14 win.

A lot of things had to go right on that final, 84-yard drive. A lot of Trojans had to make their marks, most notably center Brett Neilon and the rest of the offensive line pushing Williams forward on fourth down to move the chains, a move the senior lineman dubbed “The Neilon Nudge” on Twitter.

But it was Williams who made the throw that only he can make to score the winning touchdown.

From the Oregon State 21, receiver Jordan Addison ran a vertical route against the Beavers’ cover 2 defense. The corner on that side of the field had to stay home on Mario Williams’ out route, meaning it was a foot race between Addison and the safety to the pylon.

There was only one spot where Williams could throw the ball for Addison to make the catch and score. And he delivered right on target.

“That was a really hard throw,” Addison said. “I feel like the timing, as soon as I turned my head the ball was already in the air. So he kind of anticipated the cover 2 zone.”

And it was all the more impressive because Williams was able to shake off the poor start.

Riley felt as if Williams had trouble finding momentum after a 3-for-12 start. There were times when Oregon State’s defense simply out-executed USC, and others when Williams’ throws or his receivers’ catches were not up to expectations.

The offense as a whole struggled to get aligned during the first half. Part of it was the noise at Reser Stadium. Despite being half-full due to construction on the south side of the stadium, the Oregon State crowd packed in the available seats and were loud and obnoxious all game.

But the Trojans also weren’t on the same page. Three times in the first half, USC had to use timeouts to avoid delay-of-game penalties, then finally drew a flag once there were no more timeouts to spend.

“There were some things operationally from us that we gotta be more efficient with,” Riley said. “We wasted some unnecessary seconds there.”

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Williams, who was not available to media after the game, spoke earlier in the week about his mindset when he is not playing at his best level. He looks to just focus on the next play, and this helps him avoid pressing and making a bigger mistake.

He was able to do that against the Beavers. Despite completing only 16 of 36 passes, he did not throw an interception that could have sunk USC’s hopes.

In a game where Oregon State threw four interceptions, Williams’ care instead of trying to make up for past mistakes proved to be a difference.

“He was super composed. He was ready to go after it,” running back Travis Dye said. “You didn’t, not for one second, think that he was somewhere else or his mental was somewhere else. You knew that he was going to get it done.”

Added Riley: “Him doing what he did and our offense being able to do that last drive showed a lot of grit and determination to match what we were doing defensively.”