No. 24 USC will travel north to the Bay Area for its presumably last conference matchup against UC Berkeley. The struggling Trojans will look to get back in the win column, as they’ve lost two straight games in the regular season for the first time since the 2021 season.

USC (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) has not looked like any shade of itself under Head Coach Lincoln Riley the past couple of games. During Riley’s tenure, the offense had been booming, boosting a staggering 43.37 points per game while averaging 493.85 total yards per game in his season and a half with the Trojans. However, the USC offense only managed 20 points and 308 yards in a lackluster performance against Notre Dame (6-2) and just 32 points and 401 yards in a lethargic effort against Utah (6-1, 3-1). 

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These numbers might pique Trojan fans’ questions about what’s happening. Some could wonder if it is junior quarterback Caleb Williams, who has severely underperformed in the losses against Notre Dame and Utah. The reigning Heisman winner tallied his first career game with the Trojans without a passing touchdown against the Utes, and he threw for three interceptions and a season-low 199 yards against the Fighting Irish.

“[Williams] is one of the eleven that is a part of this offense, so I would say the other ten hadn’t been working,” Assistant Head Coach Dennis Simmons said in a press conference Tuesday. “In order for us to be successful, we all have to do our jobs.”

Others may believe the offensive struggles have something to do with the offensive line. Williams was sacked six times against Notre Dame and four times against Utah. He seemed to be in a hurry almost every passing down, forcing him to make the mistakes we seldom see him make.

But Offensive Coordinator Josh Henson said he was happy with the offensive line’s adjustments against Utah.

“We got some better push up front,” Henson said. “I thought we did a good job of holding our own physically.”

There was a repeating theme in the season for the Trojans last weekend: The defense struggled … again. The Trojan defense let third-string junior quarterback Bryson Barnes do whatever he wanted on the field, and he amassed 292 total yards with four total touchdowns. Barnes had never scored more than two touchdowns in a game in his entire career until this matchup.

Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch takes full accountability for the defensive struggles.

“They put ‘coordinator’ next to your name, you’re supposed to coordinate it right,” Grinch said. “There’s an accountability piece, so that’s your job.”

Aside from the two straight losses, the Trojans have a perfect opportunity to get back on the right side of the final score with a matchup against Cal (3-4, 1-3). The Golden Bears are coming off a bye week and are one of three teams in the Pac-12 with fewer than three total wins.

Cal has struggled to defend the pass, giving up 246 passing yards per game, so this might be the perfect matchup to get Williams back into his groove. 

“We’re going to have to go at them this weekend,” senior wide receiver Brenden Rice said. “They’re going to play a lot of maybe quarters-three and honestly got to attack the ball.”

One of the lone bright spots in Cal’s season has been sophomore running back Jadyn Ott. The pre-season Doak Walker award candidate is first in the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game with 111.4. The Golden Bears have a two-headed backfield in redshirt senior running back Isaiah Ifanse, who leads the team in rushing touchdowns with seven.

Last season against the Trojans, Ott had 120 total yards and two rushing touchdowns.

With all of the negativity surrounding USC from inside out, the team still has superstar potential that could be unleashed at any moment. 

“We’re 4-1 in conference right now, so we still have every opportunity to accomplish every goal that this team has set for it,” Simmons said. “We’re tied for second place in this conference. In order for us to get where we want to go to, we would’ve had to win the games we have to play this upcoming succession regardless.”

Freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch is the first Pac-12 player since 2015 to have a rushing, receiving, kick return and punt return touchdown in the same season.

Redshirt junior running back Marshawn Lloyd leads the country in rushing yards per carry with 7.94. Although it is struggling, USC’s offense is third in the nation in points with 45.4, while Williams is second in the country in passing touchdowns with 23.

These impressive statistics speak for themselves; USC has an electric offense. One of its key points this game is to get its exhilarating offense back on track.

“Our guys understand where we rank at in this conference right now and what we need to do,” Simmons said.

USC travels up to UC Berkeley for the final scheduled weekender trip as it takes on Cal Saturday at 1:00 p.m. It will try to improve its overall record to 7-2.