The middle of the game doomed Cal for a second straight week. Saturday night, the Bears once again used a strong second half to make their opponent uneasy, but the late charge just wouldn't be enough. Cal lost to No. 9 USC, 41-35, on Saturday night in Los Angeles after scoring 21 points in the final 15 minutes. However, a big mistake and missed opportunities at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter proved to be the most pivotal stretch.
The Bears (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) had a lead on No. 8 Oregon last week in the second quarter only to see it quickly disappear by halftime. The same stretch against USC on Saturday night looked almost identical to what the Bears put themselves through in that game against the Ducks.
Just like in that matchup, quarterback Jack Plummer threw an interception with under 3 minutes to play allowing USC to expand what had been a one score lead to two by the time the teams went to the locker room.
Plummer tried to find Jeremiah Hunter down the field, but the Cal receiver was surrounded by three USC defenders with safety Calen Bullock ultimately being the one to haul the pass in.
The Trojans needed just three plays and 19 seconds to grow their lead taking a 20-7 advantage into halftime. Cal was able to narrow the gap by scoring 28 points in the second half but could never eliminate that cushion the free drive gave USC.
"The interception before halftime, I think, might be the difference between a win and a loss for us," Plummer said. "You can't turn the ball over in a 2-minute drill, and they ended up scoring a touchdown there. That's a big swing for us.
"If we go down there and even get a field goal that's a 10-point swing."
