USC Trojans at California Golden Bears
The crazy world of Pac-10 football will make a little more sense after the Southern Cal Trojans visit the California Golden Bears in Week 5 of the college football schedule.
Oddsmakers have set the Trojans as early 5.5-point road favorites. Southern Cal has won the last five meeting with Cal, posting a 3-2 record against the spread. Going back over the last 10 years, USC is 7-3 but just 4-6 ATS versus the Golden Bears.
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Team Records:
Southern Cal: 3-1 SU, 1-3 ATS
California: 3-1 SU, 2-1 ATS
Cal and USC both have one conference defeat heading into this weekend’s matchup. While most experts picked either the Trojans or Bears to claim the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl bid, both programs could find themselves settling for a non-BCS bowl if one of the conference’s other contenders finish Pac-10 play with a perfect record.
California suffered its first loss of the season to the Oregon Ducks this Saturday. Following an impressive win over Minnesota two weeks ago, books had tagged the Golden Bears as 5.5-point road favorites in Eugene. However, a desperate Ducks teams relentlessly attacked the Cal offense, claiming a stunning 42-3 victory.
Cal star running back Jahvid Best, who scored five times against the Golden Gophers, was locked down for 55 yards rushing; that snapped the junior’s 100-plus rushing yard streak at seven games. Best couldn’t break loose for big gains and was constantly hounded by Oregon’s athletic defenders. Best will stare down the nation’s fifth-best run defense Saturday. Southern Cal has allowed just under 60 yards on the ground per game and has done a great job against Best in the past. He rushed for only 30 yards against USC in 2008 and 18 yards in 2007.
The Trojans are still trying to get rid of the taste of their shocking loss to the Washington Huskies two weeks ago. Southern Cal bounced back with an unimpressive 27-6 drubbing of Washington State on Saturday. Oddsmakers hung a 45.5-point spread on the Trojans, expecting an anger-inspired beatdown. Things looked promising for USC backers after the Trojans scored 20 points in the first quarter. However, Southern Cal failed to score again until the midway mark of the fourth quarter.
Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley was back under center for USC after missing last week with a shoulder injury. He was just 13-of-22 for 247 yards passing and two touchdowns versus WSU. While the final score fell short of covering the massive number, Barkley did show promise in the pocket, connecting on some sharp passes.
Southern Cal failed to cash in on two goal-line opportunities, one of which was a dropped pass. The other was a third and fourth-down rush attempt from C.J. Gable that was stuffed by the Cougars. The Trojans have a red-zone efficiency of just 81.25 percent in four games – scoring a touchdown just 69 percent of the time.
The Trojans’ ground attack isn’t as strong as past seasons, getting 216 yards from their talented running back corps. Junior Joe McKnight is leading the way with over 88 yards per game and four touchdowns this season. Senior Stafon Johnson has a nose for the end zone, scoring five times while rushing for 39 yards per game this season.
Cal was trampled by the Ducks’ running backs. The Golden Bears gave up 236 yards and two scores on the ground over the weekend. They were also beat up by Oregon’s passing attack. Cal’s pass rush was non-existent, allowing Ducks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to pass for 253 yards and three touchdowns. The Cal secondary was consistently burned by an offense that failed to score a passing touchdown in its first three games of the season.
On the other side of the ball, there are rumors bubbling among Cal backers that quarterback Kevin Riley should be put on a short leash. The junior pivot was just 12-of-31 for 123 yards and failed to pass for a touchdown Saturday. On the year, Riley is averaging more than 205 yards passing and has not yet thrown an interception. However, his 57 percent completion rating is among the worst in the Pac-10 – especially for a QB who is throwing more than 25 times a game.
These Pac-10 rivals have played under the total in five straight meetings, including last season’s 17-3 final.
