USC football heads to Berkeley for its first road game of the year against 3-0 Cal. Who will prevail in the interdivisional battle of undefeated Pac-12 teams?
After three straight home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Southern California heads on the road for the first time this year. They get to remain in the state of California, though, as they head to Berkeley to face the unbeaten Golden Bears.
Last year, the Trojans took down Cal 45-24 at the end of October. USC already has one conference win on its record, having taken down Stanford two weeks ago. But while they remain among the highest-ranked contenders in the AP Top 25, the Trojans did drop one spot behind Penn State on Sunday after Texas forced overtime.
Meanwhile, the Golden Bears have looked resurgent under first-year head coach Justin Wilcox. California has knocked off North Carolina and Ole Miss along with FCS Weber State to start the year. With one of the stronger non-conference resumes among Power Five teams, Cal could set itself up for a dark-horse College Football Playoff campaign if they begin Pac-12 play by upsetting USC.
The Trojans have won 13 straight in the series, with California last winning against USC in 2003. Clay Helton’s team arrives in Berkeley as the No. 5 team in the nation, but they will have their hands full against this year’s Golden Bears team. Who will exit Memorial Stadium with their undefeated record still intact?
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s game between California and USC:
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Date: Saturday, Sept. 23
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Berkeley, Calif.
Venue: Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
Sam Darnold entered the season as a Heisman contender and as the early favorite to go first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. So far in 2017, though, the redshirt sophomore has been good but hardly great as USC has staked out a 3-0 start. He has thrown a pair of interceptions in every game so far this season. And while Darnold already has over 1000 yards on the season, he has also seen his completion rate drop by half a percentage point.
California features one of the weakest secondaries in the country as they give up over 335 yards per game. Darnold will need to cut down on his mistakes and have another showcase performance for USC to emerge victorious on the road. The Trojans also need Ronald Jones II to have a solid game running the ball after he racked up just 47 rushing yards against Texas.
For Cal, in addition to stopping the USC offense they will also need Ross Bowers to have a big game if they are going to pull off the upset at home. After going 24-of-47 and throwing two interceptions against Ole Miss, Bowers will need to be much sharper if Cal is going to move to 4-0 and begin Pac-12 play with a win.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of Sportsbook Review
Point Spread: USC -16.5
Over/Under: 63.5
Prediction
USC has far more weapons on both offense and defense, but Cal is going to keep this game closer than Trojans fans might like. While oddsmakers have installed the Trojans as more than a two-touchdown favorite on Saturday, they will also have to contend with a Golden Bears team that can put up points on the board as well.
Clay Helton’s team has not had the most convincing starts to the season, and pollsters dropped them a spot last week despite winning. That could happen again this week, as California plays USC close throughout the entire game. After only managing to put away Western Michigan and Stanford late in those contests, the Trojans cut things especially close last weekend.
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Darnold will throw another handful of touchdowns, but he will also have another costly interception that keeps Cal in this contest. Ross Bowers will be able to make plays against the Trojans secondary. Ronald Jones II will assert himself against the mid-level Golden Bears front seven, rushing for over 100 yards and two scores to fuel the road win and keep the Trojans in the top five another week.
Final Score: USC 34, Cal 27