USC football

Cal had recently shown underwhelming performances, but the true fighting spirit on the gridiron this evening has redeemed some of that disappointment for fans. Final score: 35-41, Cal.

In 11 months’ time, conference reconfigurations and the all-powerful transfer portal conceived USC a new main character this season. On Saturday, the Bears will assume the role of the underdog as they are set to tussle with the No. 9 Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Cal’s victory marks its largest win over USC since 2000, when the Bears beat the Trojans 28-16 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

USC let the football slip from its fingers one too many times. The Trojans’ efforts to close the gap on the scoreboard were proven futile by Cal’s defense.

There is pride associated with playing another California team. It might not be the rivalry it is with UCLA, but playing Cal is still a big deal.

The Bears will need to have more ball control than they did against UCLA if they hope to stand a chance against a team that is more talented on paper.

Pressure from the Bruins made the Bears’ offense look like a shell of the one that lit up Stanford’s defense for 41 points just one week ago.

Cal has one final game: USC at home, where it will honor the seniors that have played such a pivotal role in the program over the last four (or five, or six or even seven years). While there may not be real stakes to play for, the Bears will certainly want to win for the seniors.

Whether it was your first time watching the Big Game or your 50th, you could simply feel the magnitude of what was happening around you.

The duo of Remigio and Garbers will seek to exploit a UCLA defense that produced arguably its best game of 2018 last year against Cal when the Bruins blew the Bears out in Berkeley.