A year ago, during USC's late-season free fall, the Trojans were thoroughly shutdown by Cal while totaling just 277 yards and going scoreless after halftime in a 15-14 loss.
That helped contribute to USC's worst season since 2000 as it fell short of bowl eligibility whlie stumbling to a 5-7 finish.
These Trojans are trying to avoid any repeats -- of that loss to the Golden Bears and of that dismal ending to the 2018 season.
USC (6-4, 5-2 Pac-12) visits Cal on Saturday night (8 p.m. PT on FS1) looking to build off a win at Arizona State last week.
Cal (5-4, 2-4) will have starting quarterback Chase Garbers back in action after he missed a month and a half with a shoulder injury. Garbers had the Golden Bears off to a 4-0 start before he went down, and overall he's passed for 952 yards, 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and rushed for 127 yards.
The Cal offense endured some struggles with his backup Devon Modster at QB and overall the Golden Bears are averaging just 19.11 points per game (117th nationally) while giving up 20.67 (tied for 25th).
Christopher Brown leads the rushing attack with 599 yards (4.0 per carry) and 5 TDs.
And defensively, senior linebacker Evan Weaver has been credited with a whopping 137 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.
For a closer look, Trace Travers from the Golden Bear Report offers his perspective on this matchup from the Cal side of things:
1. What's your expectation for the QB situation and how much difference does Garbers make over Modster if he starts? (UPDATE: It was announced Friday that Garbers will start.)
Travers: "Cal announced the starting quarterback for last week in a text on a Friday evening, so I expect the same. Both players have gotten reps in practice this week, so it's probably a coin-flip as to who starts. As for Garbers, the biggest thing is how much he's protected if he makes the start. He's coming back from a contact injury, one that kept him out for seven weeks, and one on his throwing side. Cal may throw in some quicker stuff, just to keep him from being hit. Where Garbers differed from Modster early in the year was the command of the game. Reads sped up for him around game four, and if he can revert to that, he can make Cal's offense functional against a defense that's better than what the Bears faced a week ago."
2. What has to happen for Cal to win this game?
Travers: "Cal has to figure out how to get to Kedon Slovis defensively, not just from a pass rush perspective, but from a coverage perspective. BYU had some success against Slovis earlier this year by dropping 8, though I suspect the true freshman has gotten better against that approach. The Bears have to disguise coverage, force an early turnover and score off it, while consistently figuring out how to cover the receiving troika of Pittman, St. Brown and Vaughns, not to mention Drake London. Offensively, they have to handle Drake Jackson, who looks like an absolute terror on the defensive front. They have to find a way to consistently run the ball. They had a few chunk runs against Washington State, but the median gain for starting running back Christopher Brown was 2 yards. That's not sustainable against a better defensive front in USC."
3. Who are the X-factors on the defensive side who make that unit stout?
