Some fascinating trivia emerged from Cal’s 41-35 loss at No. 9 USC on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
For example, the Bears’ level whole on Saturday night time was their second-highest towards the Trojans previously 101 years, topped solely by a 52-30 win over USC in 1990.
Coach Justin Wilcox wouldn’t have been within the temper to listen to about it.
“I like our gamers. Our gamers play exhausting and compete. We have to play higher soccer so we will win these video games,” he stated. “Two out of the final three towards very gifted groups that we had probabilities to win and we didn’t get it performed. That’s the underside line. We is not going to settle for dropping.”
The underside line is Cal (3-6 1-5 Pac-12) enters the ultimate three video games of its schedule driving a five-game dropping streak that features a 28-21 house defeat to Washington. The Bears should win all three — Oregon State on the highway subsequent Saturday and Stanford and UCLA at house — so as to turn out to be bowl eligible for the primary time since 2019.
With 5 Pac-12 defeats, the Bears are assured of their thirteenth consecutive dropping convention report. And so they nonetheless haven’t overwhelmed an AP Prime-10 opponent on the highway since 1951.
They made it entertaining within the fourth quarter towards USC, getting up off the mat after trailing 34-14 to attain three landing, together with a 4-yard TD run by freshman Jaydn Ott with 2:31 left, then a profitable two-point conversion to get inside six factors.
Stated quarterback Jack Plummer, who had a Cal career-high 406 passing yards with three touchdowns, “Simply hoped we’d get the ball again yet another time.”
They didn’t.
Listed below are takeaways from the sport:
THREE KEY PLAYS
Cal trailed simply 13-7 late within the first half when Plummer was intercepted. USC took over on the 50 with 1:12 left and wanted simply 19 seconds to push its result in 20-7.
Cal acquired the ball first to open the second half however needed to punt after Ott was stuffed for no acquire on a third-and-1 play. 5 performs later, Caleb Williams threw an inside display to Michael Jackson, who put a transfer on linebacker Femi Oladejo and raced 59 yards for a TD that made it 27-7.
“You’ve acquired to make these performs,” Wilcox stated. “We need to win these video games. We’re not out right here to only preserve it shut.”
Wilcox didn’t dwell on the interception, however Plummer stated it might need been “the distinction between and a win and a loss.”
PLUMMER’S NIGHT
Even with the interception, Plummer had his most efficient recreation of the season. The Purdue switch grew to become the primary Cal participant to go for 400 yards since Davis Webb in 2016, and he threw for 273 yards and all three TDs within the second half.
Plummer stated the Bears didn’t cease believing they might win, even whereas trailing by 20 factors after three quarters.
“In case you’re a competitor, you by no means take a look at that scenario and say, `Oh, the sport is over,’ “ he stated. We have been shifting the ball fairly effectively at occasions, however weren’t placing factors on the board. As soon as we began (scoring), we established a rhythm and it felt good.”
LINE DANCING
Sophomore Ender Aguilar made his first profession begin at proper deal with and seldom-used Everett Johnson noticed appreciable motion off the bench because the teaching workers continues to search for an offensive line mixture that work.
“I really thought they performed very effectively for guys that had little to (no) school expertise,” Plummer stated. “The second wasn’t too massive for them.”
However whereas the Bears have been profitable by way of the air, they proceed to wrestle operating the ball. Ott had 40 speeding yards on three carries throughout Cal’s opening drive of the sport, then solely 10 extra yards on his last 11 rushes, though he did catch seven passes for 70 yards.
Throughout its five-game dropping streak, Cal is averaging simply 53 speeding yards at 2.1 yards per try.
NEXT UP
With no extra margin for error of their long-shot quest for a bowl bid, the Bears trek to Corvallis, Oregon, to face Oregon State on Saturday.
The Beavers (6-3, 3-3) are coming off a 24-21 loss at Washington, however they're 3-1 at house, together with a 17-14 loss to USC in late September.
Cal is now 0-4 on the highway this season and 1-11 for the reason that begin of the 2020 marketing campaign.