Cal football on Saturday
Who: USC (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12) at Cal (5-4, 2-4) When: 8 p.m. Where: Memorial Stadium TV/Radio: FS1/810
Story line: One win from becoming bowl eligible for the second straight year, the Bears face USC in their final home game of the season. Last Saturday, Cal snapped its losing streak at four games with a 33-20 victory over Washington State. Last year, Cal snapped its skid against USC at 14 games with a 15-14 decision in L.A. The
Trojans still own a decent shot at winning the Pac-12 South.
WHEN CAL HAS THE BALL
Quarterback Chase Garbers will return for the first time since a shoulder injury forced him to leave late in the second quarter of Cal’s 24-17 loss to Arizona State on Sept. 27. The Bears were 4-0 before
Garbers’ injury. He has completed 68 of 115 passes (59.1%) for 952 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Junior center Mike Saffell also returned last Saturday after injuries had sidelined him for two games. His presence certainly helped Cal’s running game; Christopher Brown Jr. carried 19 times for 95 yards and a touchdown. The 95 yards were Brown’s most since he gained 197 in the opener against UC Davis.
USC is seventh in the Pac-12 in points (28.1) and yards (417.9) allowed per game. A player to watch is defensive end Drake Jackson.
The 6-foot-4, 275-pound freshman ranks third in the conference in tackles for loss with 9.5.
WHEN USC HAS THE BALL
Kedon Slovis had a nice afternoon in the Trojans’ 31-26 win at Arizona State last Saturday. He threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns — in the first quarter. For the season, the freshman has completed 69.3% of his passes and thrown for 20 TDs. He has been intercepted nine times.
Few teams in the country can boast of three receivers better than the Trojans’ Michael Pittman (71 receptions, 938 yards, 8 TDs), Tyler Vaughns (62, 752, 5) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (55, 666, 5). Vaughns is dealing with an ankle injury, and it’s uncertain if he’ll play Saturday night.
Those receivers will provide a strong test for Cal’s secondary. Three starting defensive backs — Traveon Beck, Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins — will be among the 13 seniors honored before kickoff. Beck made a third-quarter interception against the Trojans last year as the Bears’ defense dominated the second half: USC gained all of 40 yards and scored no points.