6-Points: USC 41, Cal 17

Comprehensive Victory

The Trojans put together a complete game, 60 minutes of dominant football, blowing out Cal in Berkeley, 41-17. "I thought there was a confidence about our team," head coach Clay Helton said. "They really wanted to come out and make a statement tonight." The Trojans have won four out of their last five, including three road games, to move to 7-4 on the season with one more game to go. "We gave the game ball to the team tonight. I really couldn't pick one guy out," Helton said. "I thought it was one of the better team victories that we've had in a while."

Appreciate the Kid

For the third time this season, QB Kedon Slovis passed for 400+ yards. For context, Sam Darnold had one 400-yard passing game in his entire USC career. "400-yard games are hard to do, especially against a Justin Wilcox defense," said Helton, whose favorite Slovis stat was zero interceptions. The freshman was nearly perfect, completing 29 of 35 for 406 yards and 4 touchdowns. "He's just a guy," said Michael Pittman Jr. "He will do great things here."

Hitmen

On the first series of the game, Christian Rector burst through the line and hammered a Cal running back. Upon further review, the hit was deemed targeting and Rector was ejected, but the play still ignited the USC defense. "It really set the tone," Helton said. "I thought there were a lot of hard hits all night." The Trojans were motivated by going up against Cal's defense, which is considered one of the best in the league. "All week long, we were hearing about how good they were," Jay Tufele said. "We proved that we can play to anyone's level that we go against."

Explosive

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox tipped his hat to the USC receivers after the game, saying, "Gotta say, I've never seen a receiving corps like [USC's] in this conference. Not in 20 years." The high praise was well earned tonight as Pittman (11 catches for 180 yards and a TD), Drake London (6 catches for 111 yards and a TD) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (5 catches for 85 yards and a TD) all went off. "Honestly, I felt like I didn't play that good," Pittman said. "I felt like I left 100 more yards out there."

Good Eats

Cal entered the game having allowed the most sacks in the Pac-12, a stat that was not lost on the Trojans. "We came hungry," Tufele said. "We knew what their weakness was." The USC defense buried two different Cal quarterbacks under a barrage of sacks, totaling five on the night. The Trojans also forced two interceptions and held the Bears to 128 yards passing.

Big Game Bruin

While the Trojans are still holding out hope that Utah will let them back in the Rose Bowl race, USC's focus shifts to UCLA. "I definitely know how USC fans feel about UCLA," said Slovis, who will play in his first Crosstown Showdown. "It's a big game on our schedule and it's the next game on our schedule, so I am looking forward to it." The final home game of the season always inspires reflection from USC's seniors. "It just happened so fast. I never thought I would get to this point," Pittman said. "I have one more home game. I want to win bad."

6-Points: USC 41, Cal 17

Players Mentioned

Michael Pittman Jr.

Christian Rector

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