USC Football: Game-by-game predictions for 2020 season

USC and Utah have played in some of the most entertaining games since the Utes decided to join the Pac-12 in 2011.

Utah finally broke through last season and won the Pac-12 South and were one win away from the College Football Playoff. The Utes return the majority of starters on offense, but the losses they have are pretty significant. Zack Moss and Tyler Huntley are gone and they won’t be easy to replace.

What will be harder to replace is the nine starters they are losing on defense. Jaylon Johnson and Bradlee Anae were two of the best defensive players in the country and they won’t be easily replaced.

Utah will be relying on South Carolina transfer quarterback Jake Bentley to take over on offense and make the transition from Huntley seamless. USC has not beaten Utah in Salt Lake since 2012 and that shows how hard of a place it can be to play.

Despite their losses, I think Utah extends the winning streak over the Trojans in Salt Lake.

Final Score: USC 24, Utah 28 (3-2, 2-1) 

One of the Trojans main rivals, Cal has seen steady improvement in recent years under head coach Justin Wilcox. Cal has not had much success against the Trojans, having lost 14 of the last 15 against USC. Wilcox has produced two straight winning seasons and will be looking to take that next step and possibly be Oregon’s main challenger in the Pac-12 North.

Cal will have a new offensive coordinator in Bill Musgrave, who has extensive NFL experience and will be looking to jumpstart an offense that has been stagnant and the main reason for the Golden Bears’ inability to win more games.

This will not be an easy game, as the Golden Bears will have another tough defense, despite the loss of linebacker Evan Weaver and defensive back Jaylinn Hawkins.

USC has enough firepower to hold off the Golden Bears and get another victory over Cal.

Final Score: USC 38, Cal 23 (4-2, 3-1)