The #7 USC Trojans have managed to bounce back from an early season loss and once again find themselves in the national championship picture but they’ll have their work cut out for them when they take on the #24 California Golden Bears on Saturday in a must win game for both teams.
USC followed up their week two victory over Ohio State with an ugly loss to the unranked Washington Huskies but they remain a legitimate threat to capture yet another national championship due to a tumultuous season for top ranked teams. After dropping to #12 in the AP the Trojans have already made their way back to #7 following losses from Penn State, Mississippi, Miami and California.
California was drubbed 42-3 last week by Oregon, a loss that led to the Golden Bears dropping from #6 in the country down to #24 and almost certainly costing them any shot at a national championship. They still have plenty to play for though as the Pac-10 remains wide open.
While the conference remains wide open that doesn’t mean a loss on Saturday won’t shut the door on whoever falls. With USC and California already holding a conference loss a second could be too much to overcome.
Saturday will almost certainly be a showdown featuring the Trojans #4 defense against the explosive running back for California, Jahvid Best. Oregon found away to shut down the junior but with nine touchdowns on the season Best has proven he can find the endzone any time he touches the ball.
Best will have his work cut out for him though as the Trojans defense has allowed just 59.5 yards per game on the ground and three rushing TDs. That means California quarterback Kevin Riley might have to open the running game by hitting some receivers, not exactly the junior’s strongest attribute.
As for USC there have been plenty of questions surrounding their offense as well and without their senior leader in Stafon Johnson the Trojans will need to step it up. Johnson will miss the remainder of the season due to an injury to his neck that nearly cost him his life. That means there will be a large reliance on freshman QB Matt Barkley to guide the offense but that may be just handing the ball to Joe McKnight and C.J. Gable. Barkley is capable of leading the offense, having already earned his stripes for a fourth quarter come-from-behind win over Ohio State, but lacks the big name receiver that USC usually features.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.
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