By Tim Peterson
(Los Angeles) – Caleb Williams threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns and Michael Jackson III had 115 yards receiving to lead USC to a 41-35 win over California Saturday night. 64,916 fans were on hand to see the Trojans lead by three touchdowns late in the third quarter and then hold on for the six point win.
Cal was down 34-14 after Tahj Washington caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Williams with 1:19 left in the third quarter. But the Bears outscored USC 21-7 in the fourth quarter to make it interesting. More on that later.
Cal got on the board first. After USC punted on its first possession the Bears took over and drove 76 yards on 5 plays. Jaydn Ott scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to give Cal the early 7-0 lead.
USC responded with a 10-play, 72-yard drive. Williams kept it himself for a one-yard touchdown. The extra point failed.
On the next possession the Trojans drove 58 yards on 7 plays. Travis Dye capped it with a 12-yard run to give USC its first lead at 13-7 with 11:44 left in the second quarter.
Late in the quarter the Trojans needed just 3 plays to go 50 yards. Williams fired a 7-yard strike to Jackson in the end zone. USC took the 20-7 lead into the half.
Williams was 17 of 28 for 203 yards and a touchdown at halftime for the Trojans. Dye had 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
The Williams-Jackson connection clicked again early in the third quarter for a 59-yard touchdown as the Trojans took a 27-7 lead.
The Bears answered on the next series going 73 yards on 6 plays. Jack Plummer hit Monroe Young on a 2-yard TD pass to cut the USC lead to 27-14. The score was set up by a 58-yard pass from Plummer to Jeremiah Hunter.
The Trojans bounced right back though. Washington caught an 8-yard scoring pass from Williams to complete an 81-yard, 8-play drive and USC led 34-14 after three and was seemingly on its way to an easy victory.
Howver Cal refused to go away. Mavin Anderson hauled in a 47-yard touchdown pass from Plummer on the next possession to make it 34-21. The Bears then recovered an onside kick.
Cal took advantage of the opportunity marching 52 yards on 10 plays. Plummer found Hunter in the end zone for a 3-yard score. The extra point was blocked but just like that Cal was within one score at 34-27 with 9:00 left.
The Trojans punched back as Williams hit Lake McRee with a 2-yard pass go up 41-27 with 5:34 left.
Cal had one last bullet to fire. The Bears marched down the field and Ott scored his second touchdown of the night with a 4-yard run. Plummer hit Young on a pass for the two point conversion to cut the lead to six with 2:31 left.
Cal used all of its time outs but USC first recovered an onside kick and then was able to pick up a couple of first downs to burn out the clock.
For California Plummer completed 35 of 49 for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns and an interception. The pick was by former Muir standout Calen Bullock. Hunter had 6 receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown and Anderson hauled in 5 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Washington joined Williams and Jackson in the USC offensive explosion. Washington had 7 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. Terrell Bynum had 7 catches for 68 yards as the two receivers made up for the loss of Mario Williams and Jordan Addison who were out with injuries.
USC improved to 8-1 with the victory (6-1 in the Pac 12 conference) with three games remaining. Cal fell to 3-6 and 1-5.
The Trojans score a lot of points, but by God, they give up a lot of points too. Riley gave up massive points at Oklahoma as well. This is not the way to go about winning a national championship.