BERKELEY, Calif. -- It looked like one of Christian Rector's best moments of the season, the redshirt senior defensive end and his finally-healed ankle bursting free through the line of scrimmage and delivering a punishing tackle for loss on Cal running back Christopher Brown Jr. on Saturday.

Then the officials signaled the play was going to be reviewed for possible targeting ... and just like that Rector was ejected early in the first quarter of USC's eventual 41-17 win over the Golden Bears.

Rector didn't talk to reporters after the game, but fellow Trojans defensive end Drake Jackson didn't hesitate to offer his in-the-moment perspective.

"I was thinking in my head that was a bad call. I mean, the game is getting a little soft. I feel that was just a good hit," Jackson said.

Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast wasn't ready to share his opinion after the game.

"I called a pressure and he came clean in the backfield and I was already looking for a call [for] second and a little bit longer, but it was a personal foul, first down. I didn't really see it, and I really have no comment on it," he said.

Head coach Clay Helton, meanwhile, had seen it again by the time he held his Sunday media call with reporters, and he said he understands why it was called even if he too didn't see it in the moment.

"When you watch it full speed, when you're sitting there on the field and it's that fast a play, whether you're a referee, whether you're a coach, whether you're a fan, whether you're a player, it looks like a bang-bang play. And a running back is not a defenseless runner," Helton said. "By the rule when you slow everything down, when you slow it down and you use the crown of the helmet that is a rule in football. Not only for the safety of the runner, but also for the safety of the defensive player and something you have to coach as a head coach -- promoting safety even for the guy tackling, keeping his head up so he doesn't have neck injuries and things like that.

"I felt so bad for Christian because he was so excited, he's finally healthy and he sets the tone right off the bat with a physical hit, but the one thing that does have to happen for the safety of the game is we do have to keep the crown of the helmet out of it. Even I saw it -- when I saw it full speed, I was like, 'What are we talking about?' But when you slow it down you do see the crown of the helmet."

RELATED: All of Clay Helton's Sunday night comments transcribed

Rector was ejected and Cal lost its top running back for the game.

Pendergast noted that Rector was going to be a focal point in a defensive game plan built around an aggressive pass rush.

That said, the Trojans still managed 5 sacks in the win and seemed to adjust fine.

"It was huge. We had some things within the game plan we were going to utilize on third down from a rush standpoint that was kind of dialed up for him, so it was disappointing to lose him that early, but we made some adjustments based on who we were going to put in there and the guys stepped up and played well," Pendergast said.

Here's the rundown of the latest USC injury updates ...

-Wide receiver Velus Jones, who was actually seeing an expanded role with Tyler Vaughns limited, sustained a high-ankle sprain Saturday night, Helton said.

-Vaughns played a few snaps when the Trojans needed to give Amon-Ra St. Brown a breather, but his injured ankle is still an issue, Helton said. "Hopefully he'll get a little bit better, so we can use him a little bit more," he said.

-Linebacker Palaie Gaoteote did not travel and has now missed two straight games due to knee and ankle injuries.

-Defensive back Chase Williams sustained a mid-foot sprain during the game and had to exit, Helton said, not adding any insight into Williams' status for this week.

-Freshman reserve wide receiver Kyle Ford had a back strain and did not play.

-And running back Vavae Malepeai made the trip and went through pregame warmups for the second game in a row without playing. Helton said Malepeai's knee wasn't all the way ready for his return. He's now missed five games after having a minor procedure on the knee.

"I think he's close, and this past week he had a really good Tuesday but experienced some soreness on Wednesday and Thursday, and we want everything to be perfect for him," Helton said. "... From a confidence standpoint, just wasn't quite there yet and my gut didn't feel good about it either. So I'm going to make sure he's fully ready to go 100 percent. I thought he had by far his best practice since the surgery on Tuesday, and had a little soreness and we want to be able work through that and when he's ready to go he's ready to go. But there is a good possibility of him being ready for this week."