USC Football: 3 concerns from Trojans’ victory at California

Another late surge allowed No. 5 USC football to pull away from Cal in the Trojans’ first road game of the year. Here are three concerns from the win in Berkeley.

For most of the first half on Saturday afternoon, California looked like the better team against No. 5 USC. The battle of undefeated Pac-12 teams was deadlocked at 13-13 going into halftime, and after three quarters remained tied. It was anyone’s game to lose as the teams switched fields for the final 15 minutes of the game.

Both teams had been strong fourth-quarter performers through their respective starts to the season. The Trojans lived up to the billing as they scored 17 points in the final frame and ran away with a 30-20 victory on the road. Away from the familiar surroundings of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time this year, the College Football Playoff contender kept its name in the hat for another week with their second conference win of the year.

Clay Helton‘s team is tenuously hanging on to its position among the national contenders, though it continues to skirt by against What did we learn from USC’s win over the Golden Bears? Here are three takeaways after the Trojans moved to 4-0 and held their position in the AP Top 25.