USC football: 3 bold predictions for Pac-12 showdown vs. California

1 of 4

USC football heads north to Berkeley for its first road game of the year. How will this battle of undefeated Pac-12 teams go down on Saturday night?

USC has been flying by the seat of its pants to start the new season. Clay Helton‘s team is 3-0, but they have yet to put together a comprehensive performance befitting a College Football Playoff contender. The Trojans struggled to pull away from Western Michigan. They looked solid if unspectacular against Stanford, but then got pushed to double overtime by Texas last weekend.

While the Trojans are still ranked in the top five of the country, they need to play much better to survive their first road trip of the season. This weekend, USC heads to Berkeley to take on undefeated California in an interdivisional Pac-12 showdown.

At the same time USC was battling to stay perfect, Cal was bolstering its credibility with a road win over North Carolina and last week’s home victory against Ole Miss. Yet the Trojans are considered the top-five team, while the Golden Bears remain unranked.

That could all change this weekend depending on the outcome of this Pac-12 tilt. USC will be on upset alert against their Bay Area counterparts, even though they enter the contest as a 17-point favorite away from home. Click ahead to read three bold predictions about how things will shake out on Saturday in Berkeley.

Home/USC Trojans