Tag: USC California

While USC survived Cal, UCLA escaped Arizona State in an eerily similar contest

#USC and #UCLA basically played the same game. #Pac12AfterDark created Los Angeles twins. We’ll give you the details of just how similar these games were.

USC versus Cal and UCLA versus Arizona State both showed us on Saturday night why the big Nov. 19 game between the Trojans and Bruins promises a lot of offensive fireworks and defensive ineptitude. Both teams contain the same basic identity: Their offenses are elite and will be extremely hard to stop. Their defenses are ordinary at best, terrible at worst, and have to find a way to make a few leverage-bearing plays each game. They don’t have to be amazing, but they do have to be remotely competent and handle key moments.

This leads us to the discovery of just how similar UCLA’s and USC’s Saturday games were in Week 10. Let’s go through the details:

USC Cal game was a playground for wide receivers … and not just for the Trojans

We knew #USC’s receivers would feast in this game, but we didn’t know Jack Plummer would throw for over 400 yards. This is a very alarming sign.

The USC Trojans had an easy game this weekend against Cal. Well, at least it was supposed to be easy.

Jordan Addison and Mario Williams sat out the game again, but the Trojans defense went missing as USC narrowly escaped with a 41-35 victory over the Golden Bears.

Jack Plummer threw for 406 yards with three scores and Caleb Williams threw for 360 yards with four scores as the Trojans survived a 21-point Cal fourth quarter to get the win.

It wasn’t as easy as everybody expected, but they got the victory nonetheless. Here are the best photos from the victory over the Golden Bears as the Trojans are looking ahead to the UCLA game.

Caleb Williams, USC offense bail out Alex Grinch’s defense in 41-35 shootout vs Cal

Caleb Williams was there for #USC. Tahj Washington and Michael Jackson III stepped up huge. The offense answered the call for the 8-1 Trojans.

Whew.

USC was leading Cal 34-14 at the start of the fourth quarter, it was reasonable to think the Trojans would have a smooth, drama-free conclusion to their night, the way we saw for much of the first half of the season.

Remember the first half of the season? USC struggled for two and a half quarters but then straightened things out in the final 20 minutes of the game on defense. USC didn’t crush teams, but it did enter the final five to seven minutes with a 15- to 18-point lead and had a sufficient comfort zone.

This is what didn’t happen against Cal.

The Trojans were carved up for 21 fourth-quarter points. They had to recover an onside kick and convert a 3rd and 5 to win.

The offense saved the day.

Take a look at what Caleb Williams, Tahj Washington, and Michael Jackson III did to carry this team over the top and rescue the defense:

Social media reaction to the implosion by USC’s defense in atrocious effort vs Cal

#USC fans were saying it the whole game vs #Cal: The Trojans’ listless defense made Jack Plummer look like another Cal QB: Aaron Rodgers.

The USC Trojans beat the Cal Golden Bears, and that’s the most important thing, but if ever a 2022 win felt like a loss, this was it. This was as close to a loss as a victory can possibly feel like.

Yes, we know that Eric Gentry and Ralen Goforth are important defensive players, and that Shane Lee still isn’t 100-percent healthy, and that Korey Foreman still isn’t making big contributions, and Romello Height is out for the season, but this Cal offense scored only 13 points at Colorado, only nine at Washington State. The offensive line is not very good at all.

Cal torched USC for most of this game, especially in the second half.

It was ugly, and some “Fire Grinch!” tweets emerged.

Let’s get the larger reaction to the game and the ugly second-half collapse:

USC throwback uniforms for this weekend’s homecoming game vs Cal? Seems like it

The #USC football account tweeted out a profile pic of a classic single-bar helmet. Something is definitely in the works for the Cal game.

USC versus California might not be heavy on drama, given that the Trojans have opened as a favorite of almost 20 points. The game will therefore be a late-night kickoff in the Los Angeles Coliseum for homecoming. It’s not a headline-grabbing game due to Cal’s struggles this season.

However, in addition to homecoming, there’s something else which is clearly in the works. No official announcement has been made, but when the USC football Twitter account tweets out a new profile pic and posts new wallpaper on its Twitter home page, as it did Sunday evening, you know that something is in the works for this Cal game coming up on Nov. 5 in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Let’s give you the visuals and some fan reactions: