Pac-12 critics have easy fodder with the fact that the conference's season ends not with Utah's long-awaited championship and trip to the Rose Bowl but with 4-7 USC and Cal teams duking it out at 8 p.m. PT in Berkeley with absolutely nothing at stake,

What a broadcasting rights boon for FS1 ...

But maybe it's only fitting this is how the Trojans' forgettable season ends -- as an afterthought once most of the country has gone to bed.

Neither USC nor Cal can qualify for a bowl game, so this rescheduled game from Nov. 13, when Cal couldn't play due to COVID issues within the program, exists simply to exist.

It looks like USC could be missing even more players than usual, judging by the practice, where mounting injuries or other factors had OLB Drake Jackson, CBs Chris Steele and Isaac Taylor-Stuart, NK Jaylin Smith and TE Jude Wolfe inactive Wednesday.

On top of all the already inactive players.

We won't spend too much time discussing the matchup. Cal has been a perfectly middling team, alternating wins and losses down the stretch and averaging 23.7 points per game and 23 points per game allowed this season.

Quarterback Chase Garber has passed for 2,354 yards, 16 TDs and 8 INTs (plus 444 yards and 4 TDs rushing), Christopher Brooks (558 yards and 2 TDs rushing) and Damien Moore (517 yards and 6 TDs) have split the backfield work and Trevon Clark (29 catches for 604 yards and 4 TDs) leads the Cal receivers.

We'll give our predictions as usual, but the final Roundtable of the season also involves some closure ...

Let's put aside that there's no good reason to play this game -- what storylines will hold your interest Saturday?

Ryan Young: "Honestly, I'm interested to see who plays, first and foremost, after interim coach Donte Williams had to meet with the team before a delayed start to practice Wednesday to make sure everyone was on the same page. I'm always interested in how freshman QB Jaxson Dart plays, and in this case I'm also interested to see if fellow freshman QB Miller Moss gets an opportunity. I still have intrigue for the young receivers/tight ends who are trying to put good plays on tape for the new coaches to evaluate. Ultimately, though, I'm most intrigued by what is said after the game, whether Williams addresses his future with more clarity, how candid the players are about this lost season, etc. That's the main reason the TrojanSports.com team is making the trek to Berkeley."

Tajwar Khandaker: "As has been the case for the past month, I’m still intrigued to monitor the play of the young secondary guys. Xavion Alford and Calen Bullock in particular have both consistently handled their duties well in recent weeks, with Bullock primarily handling deep duties and Alford playing closer to the box. Bullock was forced into first-team cornerback reps Wednesday with Steele and Taylor-Stuart out so it will be interesting to see his role in this game. Both Alford and Bullock should have real shots to go into next season competing for starting safety jobs, and I have to believe they’ll have every motivation to show out for their new coaching staff. As a matter of fact, I expect that a lot of players across the roster might have that same motivation; this is phase one of a tryout that’ll last into next fall. It’ll definitely be interesting to keep track of who steps up tonight, at practically every position. I’m also curious to see how much of the strong energy and grit from last week’s second half carries through to this contest, especially given the roller-coaster of the past 6 days."

What's your prediction?

Young: "Cal, 28-27. The Trojans are battling major turmoil behind the scenes and it felt like it started to bubble to the surface this week with the unexpected late start to practice Wednesday. I think this could be another bad loss in a season full of them. I'm still surprised this team delivered the performance it did last week in the narrow loss to BYU, but that was the seniors' last game in the Coliseum, bowl hopes were at least still technically possible, etc. I'm not expecting the most collectively locked-in performance in this one."

Khandaker: "USC 35, Cal 21. The Trojans looked alive -- truly alive -- for the first time in months last week. Even given the lack of stakes in this game and the evident discontent on the team about having to play it, I expect some of that energy to carry over, especially among the younger players. Cal isn’t a very good team, and I expect the USC offense to look fairly solid given Dart’s increasing confidence and comfort. I think the Trojans will pull away about halfway through this game, though I do expect some sloppiness from them per usual."

OK, enough about the game, how high will USC finish in the 2022 recruiting rankings after dropping outside the top 100 earlier this week?

Young: "I'm confident in a top 20 finish and I think a top-10 finish is optimistically feasible. New coach Lincoln Riley has been flying around the country this week trying to rally those efforts and with less than two weeks left to pull it all together those projections may seem outlandish, but Riley has restored all hope and elevated expectations for this program in every regard. I'm not going to doubt him here."

Khandaker: "It’s hard to say given the pure bareness of the cupboard at this point; the Trojans only hold five commitments right now, and one of them is a punter. Nonetheless, it’s pretty safe to expect that Lincoln Riley will put together a strong finish to this recruiting cycle, and there are a good number of names left out there that the Trojans are poised to have a shot at. There will almost certainly also be players Riley brings in who we don’t really have an eye on right now -- all things told, I think the Trojans will be able to make it back to the 8-12 range in the rankings."

Which player on both sides of the ball will benefit most from the new staff?

Khandaker: "On offense, there’s no answer but Jaxson Dart. There’s little that needs to be said about Riley’s prowess as a quarterback whisperer, and his scheme will do wonders to maximize on Dart’s natural mobility. It remains to be seen how close Dart can get to his ceiling in the near future, but he should be in a great situation to do so. On the other side of the ball, I think Korey Foreman is really going to have a chance to flourish in the role he was always meant to have on this team. Despite the deficiencies of Riley and Grinch’s Oklahoma defenses, they’ve gotten big production out of front seven players like Nick Bonitto, Neville Gallimore and Kenneth Murray. With a whole offseason to get himself prepared, Foreman should be primed to capitalize on a starting opportunity across from Tuli Tuipulotu."

Young: "I want to say Dart too, but the Caleb Williams transfer questions hover over that position for the time being. If Williams stays put at Oklahoma, then yes, Dart should have a monster season with Riley at the helm. But for the time being I'll go with Gary Bryant Jr. I still believe in his upside and I trust this offensive staff to know how to get the most out of him better than the outgoing staff. And on the defensive side, yeah, it's Foreman for me. It's clear he and defensive line coach Vic So'oto just didn't click in a productive way, and it was hard to even get a true read on Foreman when he was playing a snap or two at a time and then yanked back to the sideline. I still have high expectations for him."