By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The list of things the Golden Bears did well on Saturday afternoon against mighty USC was lengthy, longer than any pundit who picked the Bears 12th in the Pac-12 could have envisioned.

The Bears were engaged and prepared with Justin Wilcox and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter creating an aggressive attack that had Heisman hopeful quarterback Sam Darnold on his heels. Cal’s running game was effective in both halves. Ross Bowers made some big throws. Receiver Kanawai Noa had his coming out party. Devante Downs’ play continued at an all-conference level.

And the scoreboard remained manageable through the first half, and into the scoreless third quarter.

But a missed field goal, a glut of late USC interceptions doomed the Bears, who fell 30-20, their 14th consecutive loss to the Trojans, dating back to 2004. For the Trojans, it was a second straight great escape, as they emerged 4-0 and squarely in the national title picture.

“They’ve been a rough two games but we’re 2-0 in that stretch and that’s all that matters to me, and that’s all that matters to this team,” Darnold said referencing USC’s thrilling overtime victory over Texas last week.

Darnold was pressured frequently as Cal threw all their attention towards USC’s best player, who was minus tailback Ronald Jones and receiver Steven Mitchell, Jr. Wilcox, the former USC assistant, proved his familiarity with the Trojans’ attack by shutting down the run game early. Against the pass, Wilcox masked his familiarity to the USC coaches by deftly throwing in wrinkles presumably cooked up by defensive coordinator DeRuyter, who was previously the head coach at Fresno State.

That mix proved Cal to be well-coached and prepared, but over the course of 60 minutes, the superior talent of USC turned the tide. Nothing new for the Trojans, who took control of games against Western Michigan and Texas, after uninspired play through three quarters.