By George Devine, Sr.

After a convincing 45-31 win at Oregon State last Saturday, the Golden Bears next play USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum on November 13, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. PST. Southern Cal, having vanquished Washington State 44-17, will be more than a formidable opponent for Sonny Dykes and his charges. However, the Bears are now 5-4, and one win away from bowl eligibility.

What caused the win and offered hope for future contests was the shift of Cal’s offense to a more balanced approach. Against OSU the Bears had 269 yards on the ground as compared to 277 in the “air-raid” attack led by QB Jared Goff. The chief practitioner of the running game was RB Daniel Lasco with 188 yards and 3 TDs. He will likely be a key to the game against the Trojans.

USC, however, is now 6-3 after their win over the Cougs, and their defense will be gunning for both Goff and Lasco. One important factor will be the need for the Cal offensive line to give both players time to launch their respective attacks. Meanwhile, the Bears’ defense will have to contend with QB Cody Kessler who threw for 400 yards and 5 TDs, as well as RB Javorius Allen who racked up 114 yards. The secondary will have to stop JuJu Smith, who caught 3 TD passes.

Cal’s remaining two games are at home, with kickoff times TBD:

November 22: Stanford

November 29: Brigham Young