Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, 8 p.m. PT, FoxSports1 California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, Calif.
USC visits long-time opponent California in a game that was originally set for Nov. 13 but was rescheduled to this Saturday due to COVID-19 issues in the Golden Bears’ program.
The December night game (USC’s seventh of 2021) on FS1, oddly coming a day after the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, is the season finale for a pair of non-bowling teams with identical records.
It’s only the fourth time in history that USC has had a game rescheduled.
It will be USC’s 108th meeting with Cal, the team the Trojans have played more than any opponent. However, for the first time since 1925, the teams didn’t battle last year due to COVID scheduling limitations.
USC hasn’t lost to the Golden Bears in the Bay Area since 2003.
It’s the first time since 1935 that USC’s final 2 regular season games are against teams that do not include either UCLA or Notre Dame.
USC goes to Berkeley riding the news about the hiring of Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley–one of the game’s most successful young coaches (85% winning percentage, 4 league titles, 4 New Year’s Six bowls with 3 CFP appearances)–as its head coach. Interim head coach Donte Williams will guide USC at Cal this Saturday.
USC, trying to avoid its first 4-game losing streak since 2001, lost a 4-point heartbreaker at home to No. 13 BYU this past Saturday. Against the Cougars, true freshman QB Jaxson Dart started his second game for injured QB Kedon Slovis, TB Vavae Malepeai ran for a season-best 99 yards while moving into 21st on USC’s prestigious career rushing chart and fellow TB Darwin Barlow had his season-high of 81 ground yards, WR Gary Bryant Jr. had 149 all-purpose yards (he is 22nd nationally in kickoff returns) and true frosh TE Lake McRee continued his emergence as a fearless downfield pass catcher. TB Keaontay Ingram, who sat out the BYU contest with an injury, is less than 100 yards from a 1,000-yard rushing season. ILB Kana’i Mauga, USC’s tackle leader in 2021, is 14 stops away from triple figures. The Trojan defense has 19 takeaways this season and got 2 more versus BYU (interceptions by Mauga and S Calen Bullock). PK Parker Lewis, with 3 field goals against BYU, is now within 2 of tying USC’s season field goal record of 19, while P Ben Griffiths is averaging 45.4 yards per boot to rank Top 20 in the country. Out of sight, but not out of mind: WR Drake London, despite breaking his ankle in Game 8 and being sidelined, remains a leading candidate for All- American honors based on his impressive body of work in 2021 (88 catches, 1,084 yards, 7 TDs). *After starting the 2021 season with a 1-5 record, head coach Justin Wilcox’s California team won 3 of its next 4 games before falling big at UCLA on Saturday. Dual-threat senior QB Chase Garbers, a 4-year starter who owns Cal career quarterback marks for most rushing yards and TDs, directs the offense. RBs Christopher Brooks and Damien Moore top the Bears in rushing, while leading pass catchers are WRs Nikko Remigio (one of the nation’s best kickoff returners), Kekoa Crawford and Trevon Clark. Cal’s defense, which is Top 25 nationally in turnover margin and interceptions, features Ss Daniel Scott and Elijah Hicks, along with OLB Muelu Iosefa (his brother played at USC) and OLB Cameron Goode.
RANKINGS: USC and California are not ranked in the current AP sports media and USA Today coaches polls.
FUN FACT I: USC has played California at more venues (8) than any other opponent. The sites and year of first appearance:
Berkeley (California Field), 1915; Los Angeles (Washington Park, Washington & Hill), 1915; Los Angeles (Fiesta Park, Grand & Pico), 1916; Los Angeles, (Bovard Field), 1917; Pasadena (Tournament of Roses Stadium (Rose Bowl)), 1922; Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum), 1923; Berkeley (Memorial Stadium), 1924; San Francisco (AT&T Park), 2011.
FUN FACT II: USC has played 1,284 games in its history and only twice—when Troy snapped No. 1-ranked California’s 38- game regular season unbeaten streak
in 1951 at Berkeley and in 2012’s loss at Stanford—has the final score been a very football-like 21-14 (win or lose).
Credit: USC Athletic Department