USC
California
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USC Football Concludes Season With Rescheduled Game At California Saturday
November 29, 2021 | Football
THEMES
*Let's try this again: USC visits long-time opponent California in a game that was originally set for Nov. 13 but was rescheduled to this Saturday due to COVID-19 issues in the Golden Bears' program.
*The December night game (USC's seventh of 2021) on FS1, oddly coming a day after the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, is the season finale for a pair of non-bowling teams with identical records.
*It's only the fourth time in history that USC has had a game rescheduled.
*It will be USC's 108th meeting with Cal, the team the Trojans have played more than any opponent. However, for the first time since 1925, the teams didn't battle last year due to COVID scheduling limitations.
*USC hasn't lost to the Golden Bears in the Bay Area since 2003.
*It's the first time since 1935 that USC's final 2 regular season games are against teams that do not include either UCLA or Notre Dame.
*USC goes to Berkeley riding the news about the hiring of Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley--one of the game's most successful young coaches (85% winning percentage, 4 league titles, 4 New Year's Six bowls with 3 CFP appearances)--as its head coach. Interim head coach Donte Williams will guide USC at Cal this Saturday. *USC, trying to avoid its first 4-game losing streak since 2001, lost a 4-point heartbreaker at home to No. 13 BYU this past Saturday. Against the Cougars, true freshman QB Jaxson Dart started his second game for injured QB Kedon Slovis, TB Vavae Malepeai ran for a season-best 99 yards while moving into 21st on USC's prestigious career rushing chart and fellow TB Darwin Barlow had his season-high of 81 ground yards, WR Gary Bryant Jr. had 149 all-purpose yards (he is 22nd nationally in kickoff returns) and true frosh TE Lake McRee continued his emergence as a fearless downfield pass catcher. TB Keaontay Ingram, who sat out the BYU contest with an injury, is less than 100 yards from a 1,000-yard rushing season. ILB Kana'i Mauga, USC's tackle leader in 2021, is 14 stops away from triple figures. The Trojan defense has 19 takeaways this season and got 2 more versus BYU (interceptions by Mauga and S Calen Bullock). PK Parker Lewis, with 3 field goals against BYU, is now within 2 of tying USC's season field goal record of 19, while P Ben Griffiths is averaging 45.4 yards per boot to rank Top 20 in the country. Out of sight, but not out of mind: WR Drake London, despite breaking his ankle in Game 8 and being sidelined, remains a leading candidate for All- American honors based on his impressive body of work in 2021 (88 catches, 1,084 yards, 7 TDs).
*After starting the 2021 season with a 1-5 record, head coach Justin Wilcox's California team won 3 of its next 4 games before falling big at UCLA on Saturday. Dual-threat senior QB Chase Garbers, a 4-year starter who owns Cal career quarterback marks for most rushing yards and TDs, directs the offense. RBs Christopher Brooks and Damien Moore top the Bears in rushing, while leading pass catchers are WRs Nikko Remigio (one of the nation's best kickoff returners), Kekoa Crawford and Trevon Clark. Cal's defense, which is Top 25 nationally in turnover margin and interceptions, features Ss Daniel Scott and Elijah Hicks, along with OLB Muelu Iosefa (his brother played at USC) and OLB Cameron Goode.
RANKINGS
*USC and California are not ranked in the current AP sports media and USA Today coaches polls.
SERIES
*USC leads the series with California, which dates back to 1915 (and is uninterrupted since 1926), 70-31- 5 (not including Troy's 2005 victory that was vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 71-31-5). The Trojans have lost just once to the Bears since 2004.
*In Trojan-Bear games in the Bay Area, USC is 36-13-1 (not including Troy's 2005 victory that was vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 37-13-1). USC's last road loss to Cal was in 2003 in triple overtime.
*In 2019 in the most recent meeting, QB Kedon Slovis threw 4 touchdown passes and USC scored 31 unanswered points to dominate California, 41-17, in Berkeley.
USC'S RESCHEDULED GAMES
*This will be the fourth time in history that USC has played a rescheduled game. The 1915 Oregon game was moved 2 days later due to rain. The 1963 USC-UCLA game was originally scheduled to be played on Nov. 23 but was postponed a week to Nov. 30 because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The 2020 Washington State game was scheduled for Dec. 4 (a Friday), but postponed 2 days to allow for the return of USC players in isolation due to COVID positive tests or in quarantine from contact tracing (also, the game's start time was adjusted 90 minutes earlier to 4:30 p.m. so it could conclude in time for L.A. County's recently-instituted COVID-19-related 10 p.m. curfew).
SEASON ENDERS
*USC is 69-46-11 (.591) in all season finales (does not include 1 win and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 70-47-11, .590).
NON-UCLA/NOTRE DAME REGULAR SEASON ENDERS
*This will be the first time since 2009 when it played Arizona that USC will end its regular season against a team other than UCLA or Notre Dame and the first time since 1935 that its final 2 regular season games are against teams that do not include either UCLA or Notre Dame (when it played at Kamehameha High School Alumni and Hawaii).
IN DECEMBER
*USC has a 44-30-7 (.586) all-time record while playing in the month of December (not including 2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 46-30-7, .596).
AT NIGHT
*USC is 183-74-4 (.709) at night, including 108-35-4 in the Coliseum, 60-31 on the road and 15-8 at neutral sites. (Does not include 5 wins and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 188-75-4, .712 overall, 111-35-4 in the Coliseum, 17-9 at neutral sites, USC had a school-record 32-game win streak at home at night from 1997 to 2010.)
ARTIFICIAL TURF
*USC is 47-31-1 in its last 79 games on artificial turf (not including 3 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 50-31-1).
VERSUS PAC-12
*USC has won 69.7% (482-201-29) of its games against current Pac-12 opponents (not including 9 wins later vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 491-201-29, 70.1%).
USC-CALIFORNIA CONNECTIONS
*USC has 7 players who previously attended a Bay Area school: DL De'jon Benton (Pittsburg HS), OL Andres Dewerk (Los Gatos HS), TE Grant Jones (De La Salle HS), TE Erik Krommenhoek (Monte Vista HS), TE Sean Mahoney (Archbishop Mitty HS), OL Jalen McKenzie (Clayton Valley HS) and WR Danny Ryan (St. Ignatius HS).
*TE Jude Wolfe's cousin, Ryan Gutierrez, was a safety at California (2001-04).
*USC linebackers coach Michael Hutchings prepped at De La Salle High in Concord (Calif.).
*USC OL Jalen McKenzie's uncle, Raleigh McKenzie, was a scout with the Oakland Raiders.
*USC ILB Spencer Gilbert's father, Greg Gilbert, played linebacker with the Oakland Raiders (1990-91).
*USC defensive line coach Vic So'oto played linebacker with the Oakland Raiders in 2012.
*USC director of recruiting strategy Marshall Cherrington held the same position at California in 2018-20.
*USC director of video production Nick Mitchell spent 2019 and 2020 as Cal football's creative director.
*USC senior associate athletic director Hatcher Parnell is a Cal graduate who previously worked in event management for the Golden Bears.
*USC associate sports information director Jeremy Wu formerly held a similar position at Cal.
*USC WR Zach Wilson celebrates his 22nd birthday on Saturday (Dec. 4).
*California head coach Justin Wilcox was USC's defensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015.
*Cal defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator Peter Sirmon was an assistant coach at USC in 2014 and 2015.
*Cal outside linebackers coach Keith Heyward was USC's defensive backs coach in 2014 and 2015.
*Cal ILB Muelu Iosefa and S Fatu Iosefa are the younger brothers of USC student coach (and former ILB) Jordan Iosefa. *Cal ILB MyKyle So'oto is the cousin of USC defensive line coach Vic So'oto. *Cal CB Tyson McWilliams is the son of former USC tight end Johnny McWilliams (1993-95).
*The California women's swim team is coached by Teri McKeever, who was an All-American swimmer at USC in 1980-81 and later an assistant coach at Troy (her late father, Mike, was an All-American guard for the 1959 USC football team, while her late uncle, Marlin, was a Trojan All-American end in 1959 and 1960).
*Cal women's basketball special assistant to the head coach Kai Felton previously was an assistant coach at USC.
*Cal athletic academic advisor Cassidy Raher formerly held a similar position at USC.
LINCOLN RILEY NAMED NEW USC HEAD COACH
*Lincoln Riley, one of college football's most successful young coaches who won 85 percent of his games in five seasons at Oklahoma and led the Sooners to four Big 12 titles and four New Year's Six bowls with three College Football Playoff appearances, was named the head coach at USC on Nov. 28. He will immediately transition to USC. Donte Williams will remain USC's interim head coach for the final week of the 2021 season, including this Saturday's (Dec. 4) game at California.
