California's Jeremiah Hunter catches a pass against Southern California defensive back Ceyair Wright during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John McCoy)
Cal made it plenty interesting against No. 9 USC on Saturday, chopping away at a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter before the Trojans escaped with a 41-35 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Bears (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) trailed 34-14 entering the final period before Jack Plummer threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Mavin Anderson with 12:56 to go.
Cal then successfully pulled off an onside kick, as junior Hunter Barth pounced on the ball. The Bears went 52 yards in 10 plays with Plummer connecting on a 3-yard TD to make it 34-27 with 9 minutes left.
But USC (8-1, 6-1) survived, powered by Heisman Trophy contender Caleb Williams, who threw for 360 yards with four touchdowns and also ran for one. He has thrown 14 TDs without an interception in the Trojans’ past three games.
His fourth TD, a 2-yarder to tight end Lake McRee with 5:34 left, gave the Trojans a two-touchdown lead once more.
Cal kept coming, scoring on a 4-yard Jaydn Ott run with 2:31 to play, pulling within 41-33. Plummer then delivered a shovel pass to Monroe Young for the two-point conversion and the Bears pulled within six points.
The Bears attempted another onside kick, but the Trojans recovered this one and ran out the clock.
Plummer threw a costly interception late in the first half to set up a touchdown that gave USC a 20-7 halftime lead, but the Purdue transfer otherwise had his best game for Cal. He completed 35 of 49 attempts for a season-best 406 yards with three touchdowns.
Cal, which played without five injured defensive backs, lost its fifth straight game and will have to beat Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA in its final three games to become bowl eligible.
The Bears struck first, going 76 yards in five plays on their first possession, with Ott changing directions a couple times on the way to a 10-yard touchdown with 10:29 left in the first quarter. He had three carries for 40 yards on the drive and Plummer was 2-for-2 for 36 yards.
The Bears rarely were able to spring Ott the rest of the night in the run game. He had just 10 yards on 11 subsequent rush attempts, including the late TD. He did have 70 yards on seven pass receptions.
Cal wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter caught six passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Originally published at Jeff Faraudo