USC survives Cal in wild Pac-12 clash, 50-49

USC 50, Cal 49 in a wild Pac-12 game

Give Justin Wilcox, head coach of Cal credit. He took his chance to beat USC on Saturday in Berkeley.

The 2-point conversion attempt with 58 seconds left didn’t work and the Golden Bears endured a 50-49 loss to the Trojans in a wild Pac-12 game.

The Trojans trailed by 11 at the half and 14  in the fourth quarter before scoring 21 straight points to take a 50-43 lead.

Cal turnovers helped the USC cause immensely.

Still, the Golden Bears rallied one last time. They went 79 yards in 9 plays over 2:30 and scored when Fernando Mendoza connected with Justin Williams-Thomas for a 13-yard TD play.

That set the stage for the decision by Wilcox.

He went for a 2-point conversion and the pass was incomplete.

USC improved to 7-2 and 4-1  in the conference. Cal is 3-5 and 1-4 in the Pac-12.

Reigning Heisman winner Williams threw for 369 yards in the victory.