Pac-12 football

There is a whole lot that separates Cal and USC football. But, as the adversaries will enter the gridiron for Saturday’s contest in Berkeley, a recent parallel reigns between the two: Uphill battles have taken downhill tumbles.

Cal picked up the pace following a lackluster start, giving the Bears a comeback victory and erasing a 17-point deficit against the Idaho Vandals.

In its final road contest of the season, Cal was struck down by the Oregon State Beavers. The loss has mathematically ended the Bears season as they notch a third straight losing season.

Oregon State surged to a commanding 21-0 lead early in the second quarter –– a winning margin it expanded to win 38-10.

In its final road contest of the season, Cal will travel to Corvallis to challenge the formerly ranked Oregon State Beavers. It will be the last of a four-game stretch where the Bears faced current or former nationally ranked Pac-12 schools.

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.

A trip to Indiana, 12 interviews and four hours of sleep later, Sports Editor Ryan Chien and football beat reporter Kabir Rao are here to break it all down.

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.