Memorial Stadium in Berkeley at Noon on FOX and Eversport (international stream)
Bear to Watch: Junior QB Jared GoffGoff is considered by many to be the top NFL prospect at his position expected to come out in this year's draft. He took his lumps as a freshman, but he has grown into a big time passer. He ranks second in the Pac-12 and 10th nationally in yards per game (323.6), tossing 20 TDs to 9 INTs. USC interim head coach Clay Helton praises his "anticipatory throwing," which means that he throws receivers open as opposed to waiting for them to come open, a skill highly valued by professional scouts.
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3 Keys
Bunker Goff
Cal is the opposite of last week's opponent Utah. The Bears run to keep you honest, but Sonny Dykes wants to throw it around 50 times per game (42.4 on average), and they have the tools to make it work. Helton not only complimented Goff profusely this week, but he considers Cal to be among the toughest wide receiving corps that USC will face this season. While Adoree' Jackson will be back on the defensive side of the ball to help with coverage, the best solution is pressure. The Trojans' front seven consistently harassed Travis Wilson last Saturday, forcing him into mistakes, and Goff will give USC's pass rushers even more opportunities to get after him.
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USC found its power run identity as an offense last week, and the Bears are susceptible to the same game plan. Cal is coming off back-to-back losses in which Utah and UCLA combined to hammer out 439 yards on the ground against its defense. Earlier this season, Texas scored six rushing touchdowns against this Bears' defense. Tre Madden is back, giving USC's tailback stable another physical option, but freshman Ronald Jones II is the most explosive weapon at 7.68 yards per carry (14th in the nation).
Special Throwback
Two years ago, under an interim head coach, USC steamrolled Cal in an afternoon game thanks to three special teams touchdowns. If the Trojans want to maintain all the positive momentum generated by the win over Utah, they need to improve in the third phase of the game, which has given away points and field position in back-to-back games on missed field goals and blocked punts. In the return game, Adoree' Jackson expressed his frustration that he has not been able to make more of an impact, but he could be due for one or two just like Nelson Agholor in 2013.
