USC - Cal Game Notes

As you watch USC host Cal this evening, you might see some of these interesting bits and points:

• USC is 7-1, 5-1 in conference play.
• Cal is 6-2, 4-1 in conference play.
• USC is in first place in the Pac-10, with Cal and Oregon State a half game back.
• USC is ranked #7 in the AP and Harris polls, 6th in the Coaches' poll and ++th in the BCS.
• Cal is ranked 21st or 22nd in the major polls.
• Broadcast: Regionally on ABC (Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman)
• Weather forecast: partly cloudy, low of 54F°, down from a high of 79. Winds light.
• Kickoff: 5:11 p.m. PST at the Los Angeles Coliseum
• It's a 93,607-seat sellout. All 6 of USC’s home games in 2008 are sold out.
• In 2006, Cal and USC tied for the Pac-10 championship.
• USC went to the Rose Bowl because they won the head-to-head tiebreaker.
• Cal's last appearance in the Rose Bowl was in 1959.
• The Golden Bears control their Rose Bowl destiny.
• USC has played Cal more than any opponent.
• This is their 96th meeting.
• USC leads the overall series 60-30-5
• Until recently, Cal did not recognize two of the earliest games, split 1-1 between them
• Cal classified those as rugby games
• The Trojans have won 4 in a row over the Golden Bears and 6 of the last 7.
• Last game: USC 24 @ Cal 17.
• Last game in Los Angeles: USC 23 Cal 9.
• In Los Angeles-area games, USC holds a 29-18-4 edge
• When Cal is ranked, they are 5-9 against USC all-time
• USC has won 4 straight against the Bears.
• The longest streak in the series: USC, 11 games
• USC has won 3 straight home games against the Bears
• USC has won 5 straight games overall.
• Cal has a 2 game winning streak.
• Cal hasn't won 3 straight yet in 2008.
• Cal is 5-0 at home but only 1-2 on the road.
• The lone road victory was against Washington State.
• This will be the third straight night contest between the schools.
• This is the third straight year that both teams enter the game ranked by AP
• USC has won its last 26 home night games.
• USC is 24-0 in November under Pete Carroll
• Carroll is 30-7 against ranked opponents
• USC has 4 players from Bay Area high schools.
• USC has a player named Jordan Cameron
• California has a player named Cameron Jordan.
• USC's margin of victory in their 7 wins: 38.7 points
• Six of their seven wins were by four touchdowns or more
• Three were shutouts
• Cal has avoided the shutout in a school-record 115 consecutive games.
• Last Cal shutout: September 11, 1999.
• USC’s scoring (7.1) defense is its best in 56 years.
• That's #1 in the country
• No team ahead of USC in the BCS has a scoring defense allowing less than 10 ppg
• USC's total (211.6) defense average is also #1 nationally
• Last time USC had a better defense was in 1967 (201.8)
• That team won the national championship
• USC's pass defense (127.5) is its best in 34 years, and also #1 in the country
• USC's pass efficiency defense (82.3, first in Pac-10) is also #1 in the country
• In rushing defense (84.1, first in Pac-10), the national rank is just 5th
• USC has surrendered just 7 touchdowns in 2008.
• Trojan LBs Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing are Lombardi Award semifinalists
• Trojan S Taylor Mays is a Thorpe Award semifinalist
• Maualuga is also a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award
• QB Mark Sanchez is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award
• Offensively, USC is ranked seventh nationally in passing efficiency (163.7, first in Pac-10)
• They are 10th in total offense (460.1, first in Pac-10) and scoring offense (40.3, first in Pac-10)
• USC is 19th in rushing offense (204.1, third in Pac-10) and 24th in passing offense (256.0)
• USC’s top 9 rushers are all averaging over 4 yards per carry.
• USC scored 138 unanswered points at one point
• Since losing at Oregon State, they have outscore theor
• In the second half in 2008, USC has outscore the competition 136-13
• That's 73-7 in the third quarter and 63-6 in the fourth quarter
• This is the 88th straight game that USC has been in the AP Top 25.
• USC has blocked 3 field goals in 2008.
• USC's offense features just 4 starters from last season
• Cal is 23rd nationally in total defense, giving up an even 300.0 ypg
• The Bears are also tied for the national lead with 17 interceptions
• Three have been returned for scores.
• Cal LB Zack Follett (11 tackles, 3 TFL) was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week last week
• Under head coach Jeff Tedford, Cal has been bowl eligible seven straight years
• Cal has never been to seven straight bowls
• Last time Cal won 6+ games for more than seven seasons in a row: 1931-38
• Cal has the 19th-best scoring offense (36.4 ppg) in the nation
• Cal has won 20 straight games when scoring 30 or more points
• Cal TB Jahvid Best ranks sixth in the NCAA in all-purpose yards, averaging 173.7 ypg
• Best is second in the Pac-10 and 23rd in the nation in rushing (105.1 ypg)
• He needs 43 more yards rushing for 1,000 for his career
• Cal leads the Pac-10 (14th in the nation) in turnover margin (+8)
• The Bears have allowed just two individual 100-yard rusher all season
• Four USC tailbacks have rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season.
• The four are Broderick Green, Stafon Johnson, CJ Gable and Joe McKnight
• USC injury update - probable: TB Joe McKnight (toe), TE Jimmy Miller (back)
• USC injury update - questionable: DT Averell Spicer (ankle); , DE Gerald Washington (ankle), SNP Chris Pousson (mono), LB Luthur Brown (back),  
• USC injury update - out: TE Blake Ayles, S Kevin Ellison (knee), TB Allen Bradford (hip), WR Scott Stephens (knee), CB Shareece Wright (neck), OG-OT Martin Coleman (ankle), OT-C Michael Reardon (hip), OG Matt Meyer (foot), DE-DT Trey Henderson (knee)
• There will be a pre-game flyover by U.S. Air Force jets
• Former USC baseballer Geoff Jenkins (2008 World Series champion Phillies) will do the coin toss
• LB/DE Clay Matthews will be honored during the Lowe’s Senior Salute
• The 1958 USC freshman men’s swimming team will be recognized
• Before the game, at 2:30, #1 USC will host #4 Cal in men's water polo

USC's weekly football release.

Cal's weekly football release.

Fight On!  Beat the Bears!  See 2 Kings 2:23-24 and Colbert: "I believe all God's creatures have a soul... except bears, bears are Godless killing machines!" Game on!

Comments

[Roboti]

You guys would have shut them out if yo didn't have two stupid penalties on interceptions.