About the same time Jeff Tedford took over the once stalemate Cal football program in 2002, Pete Carroll was just starting to rebuild a national powerhouse that soon regained its spot near the top of the college football world. Tedford and Carroll have since met six times on the field and every game except for one has been competitive down to the fourth quarter. The two programs will met again 5 p.m. Saturday evening in Los Angeles, renewing the rivalry of the two most successful teams in the Pac-10 over the last seven years.

Although USC holds a 5-1 record in these six games, the contests have been a lot closer than on second look.

Except for the blowout in 2005, Cal has held a lead, were tied, or at most found itself behind by no more than a touchdown of USC in every fourth quarter played between these two teams between 2002-2007.

Here is a look back at the recent history of the Bears vs. the Trojans:

So was it a catch or not? That was the question that Blue & Gold fans were frustratingly asking after the Trojans rallied from 18 points down to upend the Bears in Los Angeles. Sultan McCullough rushed for 176 yards on 39 carries and Carson Palmer completed 25-of-39 passes for two touchdowns, but the talk of the game was a phantom touchdown catch by USC wide receiver Kareem Kelly late in the first half that pulled the Trojans to within 21-17.

Kelly crossed the back of the end zone and appeared to haul in a Palmer strike. As Kelly fell to the turf however, the pigskin appeared to slip out of his hands. Instant replay wasn't used back then and the call on the field was a touchdown.

"I'm still sticking with it was a good catch. Other than that, I have no comment," Palmer told the AP after the game.

If that play was ruled correctly, who knows? Tedford might've notched is first win in Los Angeles in his first year as head coach. Instead eight years later, Tedford is still looking for that elusive "w" in the City of Angels.

Interestingly, the defeat in 2002 marked the first time in six games that Cal had lost at the LA Coliseum, a stretch that went back to 1994. The Bears jumped out to a 21-3 lead behind the arm of Kyle Boller and legs of Joe Igber. Boller completed 20-of-30 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns while wide receiver Lashaun Ward caught a team-high seven balls for 96 yards.

Mike Williams led all receivers with six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.

The most memorable victory in the Tedford era to this date, the Bears were given very, very little chance of pulling off the upset. In fact, ESPN figurehead Lee Corso convincingly said on the popular "College Game Day" show that morning that the Cal offense would have a tough time crossing the 50-yard line.

As they say though, that's why they play the games.

Adimchinobe Echemandu and the Bears' offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage for four quarters plus, while the Cal passing game kept the Trojans' defense off balance just enough to dispatch the visiting USC squad in thrilling fashion.

After taking an early big lead much like the contest in '02, USC came roaring back, eventually tying the score at 21-21 when linebacker Lofa Tatupu picked off Aaron Rodgers and returned the ball 26 yards to the end zone midway through the third quarter. Up to that point, Rodgers was completely on point, completing 18-of-25 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

Experienced backup Reggie Robertson stepped in for the injured Rodgers after that Tatupu pick and the Cal offense didn't miss a beat. Robertson quickly got into rhythm while the inspired Bears' defense held strong, holding the Trojans to three points the rest of the second half before heading into overtime.

As they say, the rest was history. Tyler Fredrickson's second try at a game-winning kick was golden, as he split the uprights in the third overtime from 38 yards out to throw the Memorial Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

Echemandu rushed for 155 yards on 34 carries and wide receiver Jonathan Makonnen caught a team-high 7 balls for 104 yards, which included a crucial touchdown in the second overtime which forced the Trojans to go down and score six themselves.

A side note to that game was the use, or rather non-use of Reggie Bush. The previous recruiting season, Carroll brought in Bush, LenDale White and Hershel Dennis, three highly touted running backs. Up to that point, Bush hadn't established himself as the USC starter yet and Dennis received the bulk of the carries.

If the game in '03 was the most memorable win in the Tedford era then the battle in '04 could very go down as the most memorable loss. The Bears out-gained the Trojans by 219 yards, held a 15-minute edge in time of possession, out-rushed USC by 116 yards, out-passed the Trojans by 103 yards, held Reggie Bush to 23 yards rushing but in the end came up nine-yards short of overtaking the then-No. 1 ranked Trojans.

As Rodgers said after the contest to the AP, "Anybody watching this game knows we really dominated the game."

Rodgers was about as perfect as a quarterback could be that day, tying a NCAA record by completing his first 23 passes. Rodgers was accurate, controlled tempo, made the correct check downs and completely outplayed eventual Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart.

Unlike the contest in '03 however, this game was much more of a defensive, grind-it-out type battle. The teams combined to kick five field goals and the last score of the game came with 5:30 left in the third quarter when then-freshman Marshawn Lynch bullied into the end zone from two-yards out.

J.J. Arrington rushed for 112 yards on 21 carries, becoming the only running back that season to hit the century mark against a Trojans defense that completely shutdown Adrian Peterson later that season in the Orange Bowl. Rodgers completed 29-of-34 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown, but it was his last three passes that he wanted back.

Holding the ball inside the 10-yard line down 23-17, the Bears had four cracks to take the lead but Rodgers' attempt to hit Makonnen on fourth-and-goal saw the ball fall to the turf after Makonnen slipped coming out of his break.

To this day, that four-play series might be the most heart-pounding single-drive moment in modern Cal football history. If the Bears had pulled out the victory that day in front of over 90,000 fans at the LA Coliseum, who knows? The Pac-10 conference might've taken a 180 degree turn to where it is now.

The only truly non-competitive game between Tedford and Carroll, the Trojans controlled tempo from the opening kick off and rolled to a blowout victory. Leinart completed 20-of-32 passes for 246 yards while White and Bush combined to rush for 172 yards and three touchdowns as USC clearly were the better team on this day.

In front of a sold-out Memorial Stadium crowd, the Trojans scored three first half touchdowns while holding the Cal offense stagnant the entire way through. The Bears relied heavily on their running game that season because of the inconsistency of quarterback Joe Ayoob and although Lynch did rack up a respectable 87 yards on the ground, it wasn't nearly enough.

The Trojans picked off Ayoob four times, as Cal's quarterback completed just 9-of-19 passes for 98 yards. After that game, Tedford inserted Steve Levy under center to finish out the rest of the season.

Although USC was considered the heavy favorite going into the contest, the game was still big from the Trojans perspective. The game in '05 was the first time USC played at Memorial Stadium since Cal upended them in the triple overtime contest.

"It seems like California has been right behind us for a while, and we talked about kind of separating a little bit," Carroll told the AP after the game. "For all the right reasons, it's good to come up here and get a win."

This one was for all the marbles. The winner was guaranteed at least a trip to the Rose Bowl and the loser was almost assuredly headed to the Holiday Bowl. The Bears more than held their own, taking a 9-6 lead late in the second quarter when wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from Nate Longshore to quiet the sold-out LA Coliseum crowd.

For the third consecutive trip to the USC's home turf however, the Bears came just a little bit short.

After the Hawkins score, the Trojans responded with a tying field goal late in the third quarter. As the two teams walked down to the other end of the field to begin the final 15 minutes, a heavy fog rolled over the LA Coliseum, symbolically shutting the door on Cal's Rose Bowl hopes.

USC put the nail in the coffin with two back-breaking touchdown strikes in the fourth quarter from the arm of quarterback John David Booty. With 13:01 left in the game, Booty found wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett to give the Trojans a 16-9 lead. Then on a fourth-and-2 from Cal's 37-yard line, Carroll gambled and it paid off in a big way, as Booty hit a streaking Steve Smith down the right sideline to seal the deal.

Booty wasn't spectacular, but did just enough as the veteran signal-caller racked up 238 yards in the air on 18-of-31 passing. C.J. Gable led the USC charge on the ground, rushing for 91 yards on 19 carries.

The Bears put up similar statistics in this defensive battle, as Lynch gained 88 yards on 20 carries while Longshore completed 17-of-38 passes for 176 yards. Lynch also led Cal in receiving, pulling in five catches for 21 yards. USC held DeSean Jackson to two catches for 41 yards.

On a rain soaked evening, the Bears were trying to savage something from an otherwise forgettable second half of a once super promising season. If you didn't get the picture by now, the theme of the USC-Cal series between Tedford and Carroll – outside of '03 upset – is close but not close enough.

The Bears took an early held, went back-and-forth with the Trojans, but one last attempt to tie the score late in the fourth quarter fell short when Terrell Thomas picked off Longshore under three minutes left in the contest.

Statistically, the two teams played even. USC held a 39 yard rushing advantage while Cal out-passed the Trojans by 80 yards. Justin Forsett had himself a great effort on the ground, rushing for 164 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. USC had similar success on the ground, as Chauncey Washington notched a career-high 220 yards on 29 carries.

The Trojans went into halftime up 14-10 and padded the lead early in the second half with a field goal. Hawkins' diving catch in the back of the end zone tied the score at 17-17 with 57 seconds left in the third quarter, but a Stafon Johnson three-yard touchdown run midway through the final frame proved to be the winning score.

Unlike the contest in '06, Jackson had a much better day catching the ball, as the soon-to-be NFL early entry hauled in five catches for 64 yards. Cal would go on to lose its next two regular season games to Washington and Stanford.