Bears Battle No. 9 Trojans At Coliseum

BERKELEY -- California heads south to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 5 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against No. 9 USC. The Golden Bears (3-5) and Trojans (7-1) are set to meet for the 109th time in history.  

SATURDAY LINEUP
Venue: United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Television (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Tom Luginbill (field analyst)
Cal Bears Sports Network Powered By Northern California Auto Dealers: 810 AM
Joe Starkey (play-by-play), Mike Pawlawski (analyst), Todd McKim (sideline reporter);
SiriusXM Ch. 382 / SXM App 972, The Varsity App

ABOUT THE SERIES
– This will be the 109th all-time meeting between California and USC.
– The Trojans lead the series, 71-32-5. The Bears have enjoyed a recent run of success, winning two of the last three in the series, including a 24-14 win in Berkeley to close out the 2021 season on Dec. 4 when the previously scheduled game was postponed due to COVID-19.

FAB FRESHMEN 
– Redshirt freshman wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant sits at the top of several stat categories among freshman wide receivers across the country. The Highland Village, Texas product leads the nation's freshmen in receptions (43), is tied for first nationally among first-year players in touchdown receptions (6) and is second in receptions per game (5.4). Sturdivant is also third nationally among freshmen in receiving yards (516) and fourth in receiving yards per game (64.5). Sturdivant tallied career bests of eight catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns against Washington on Oct. 22.
– True freshman running back Jaydn Ott has re-written the record books in his first eight games at the collegiate level. The Chino, California native ran for 274 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in Cal's 49-31 win over Arizona on Sept. 24. Ott leads all Pac-12 freshmen and ranks third nationally in rushing yards per game (84.4), rushing yards (675) and rush yards per carry (5.7). Named a midseason true freshman All-American by College Football News, The Athletic and On3, Ott also currently ranks fourth among first-year players nationally in all-purpose yards per game (102.2), tied for fifth in total touchdowns (7) and tied for eighth in rushing touchdowns (5).
– Redshirt freshman wide receiver Mavin Anderson is third on the team in receptions (25) and receiving yards (236), while being tied for third in receiving touchdowns (2). Anderson has come on strong as of late with 13 catches for 137 yards and a score in the last three games. 
– Defensively, the Bears have seen an immediate impact from two first-year players in true freshman cornerback Jeremiah Earby and defensive end Nate Burrell. Earby, who was named a midseason freshman All-American by 247Sports, The Athletic, and On3, has played in all eight games with three starts. Earby is seventh on the team in tackles (22) and hauled in his first career interception in the season opener vs UC Davis. Burrell has played in all eight games including four starts this season as a consistent cog along the defensive line and contributed 14 tackles.

BEARS VS TROJANS
– Cal has won two of the last three matchups against USC, earning a 15-14 win in 2018 at the Coliseum and a 24-14 victory in the 2021 season finale. 
– Trailing 14-0 at halftime during the 2018 tilt in Los Angeles, Cal scored 15 unanswered in the second half to secure the come-from-behind victory. The win ended USC's 14-game streak in the series and was Cal's first at the Coliseum since 2000. Evan Weaver had two game-defining sacks on back-to-back fourth quarter USC drives and Traveon Beck had a pivotal interception that led to the game-winning touchdown. The Bears also had a memorable conversion on fourth-and-one with just over two minutes remaining, icing the victory on Patrick Laird's 14-yard run.    
– Last season's victory was defined by 14 Cal points scored off turnovers in the first home win over the Trojans since 2003. Trey Paster returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.  
– The 2020 COVID-19 shortened season was the first time the California rivals didn't meet on the football field since the 1925 campaign.

OPPONENTS' OFFENSIVE ARSENALS
– Cal is in the middle of a tough stretch, facing a gauntlet of the top three ranked offensive teams in the Pac-12 in Oregon (42.4 ppg, #5 NCAA), USC (41.0 ppg, #8T NCAA) and Washington (40.4 ppg, #10 NCAA) with all three squads averaging better than 40.0 points per game and ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense.

STAY POSTED
For more coverage of Cal football, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalFootball), Instagram (@calfootball) and Facebook (/CalAthletics/).