The Bears battled.

In a game that was once 27-7, Cal fought back and almost completed the upset over No. 9 USC but fell just short, 41-35, after scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter.

This marks Cal’s fifth straight loss in a season that has not gone the way many fans expected or hoped. The Bears (3-6, 1-5 Pac-12) did some good and adventurous things in Saturday's game to keep it close, but eventually some of the same issues (compounded by lots of injuries) reared their head and gave the game to USC (8-1, 5-1).

This one, just like the loss to Washington, will sting. Cal gets close enough to keep it crazy but can’t close that final gap.

This loss safely falls under the "heartbreaking" category for the players, coaches and fans.

First Quarter

10:29, Cal - Jaydn Ott 10 yard rush. 7-0, Bears

5:58, USC - Caleb Williams 1 yard rush. PAT is no good. 7-6, Bears.

Second Quarter

11:44, USC - Travis Dye 12 yard rush. 13-7, Trojans

0:53, USC - Michael Jackson III 7 yard reception from Caleb Williams. 20-7, Trojans

Third Quarter

11:00, USC - Michael Jackson III 59 yard reception from Caleb Williams. 27-7, Trojans

7:27, Cal - Monroe Young 2 yard reception from Jack Plummer. 27-14, Trojans

1:18, USC - Tajh Washington 8 yard reception from Caleb Williams. 34-14, Trojans

Fourth Quarter

12:56, Cal - Mavin Anderson 47 yard reception from Jack Plummer. 34-21, Trojans

9:00, Cal - Jeremiah Hunter 3 yard reception from Jack Plummer. 34-27, Trojans

5:34, USC - Lake McRee 2 yard reception from Caleb Williams. 41-27, Trojans

2:31, Cal - Jaydn Ott 4 yard rush. 2PT attempt is GOOD. 41-35, Trojans

USC ripping off four unanswered scoring drives from the first quarter to midway through the third is ultimately what did the Bears in. Trying to come back from down 27-7 is just too much and it gave the Trojans too much leeway when Cal ended up needing a stop during its comeback effort late in the game.

RELATED: Cal sees familiar problems creep into latest loss

It’s Jack Plummer.

Listen, the interception that gave USC extra points at the end of the first half was brutal, yes. But Plummer absolutely battled on the field. Throwing for over 400 yards with nearly 50 attempts, while both starting guards exit the game (Ben Coleman and Sioape Vatikani both left with presumed injuries), and battling back against a top-10 team is going to get you props. Was he perfect? No. Was he good enough to put this team in a position to win? Abso-freakin-lutely.

Jack Plummer and Jeremiah Hunter’s touchdown after Cal’s surprise onside kick.

This may not be the flashiest play of the day (although it was a great catch from Hunter) but, consider the following: Cal came out and tried to steal a possession and scored in the process to cut a two-score lead down to just one. That is the sort of built-in risk taking and aggressiveness this team has been needing in order to compete with teams like USC. This was a great sequence from the Bears. They should take the success they had from the aggressiveness on this drive and carry it forward.

Ultimately, the defense couldn’t get a stop when it needed one most and the offense went M.I.A. on the scoreboard from 10:29 in Q1 to 7:27 in Q3.

Tackling and consistent scoring. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Clearly, Cal can do these things. The Bears are so capable of scoring points and they did stop USC a few times, but doing these things consistently seems to elude them for now. How that gets fixed is unclear, but Cal’s gotta figure something out. Ideally sooner, rather than later.

Aside from the loss moving them a step further from bowl eligibility (the Bears would need to win out from here), Cal also is going to have to deal with some potentially new injuries. Players who might be dinged up from this game include: Mavin Anderson, Jeremiah Hunter, Ben Coleman and Sioape Vatikani. Add it all to this list:

Managing this many high-profile injuries is not going to be a fun time for the Bears. They had enough issues to address while fully healthy. How Cal wants to play out the rest of this season is interesting, with postseason play likely out of the question (but mathematically possible), the Bears have to find a way to fight and change the playing field in their favor. The surprise onside kick was great, taking shots and going for it on fourth downs was good too.

The end story is the same though: the Bears are really, really good at creating chances (in spurts). Chances for upsets, turnovers, touchdowns, everything. But they aren’t capitalizing.

So, now what?

Passing

Jack Plummer: 35/49, 406 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception

Rushing

Jadyn Ott: 14 carries, 50 yards, 2 touchdowns

DeCarlos Brooks: 6 carries, 23 yards

Receiving

J. Michael Sturdivant: 8 catches (11 targets), 54 yards

Jaydn Ott: 7 catches (7 targets), 70 yards

Jeremiah Hunter: 6 catches (11 targets), 102 yards, 1 touchdown

Mavin Anderson: 5 catches (5 targets), 87 yards, 1 touchdown

Monroe Young: 5 catches (6 targets), 66 yards 1 touchdown

Keleki Latu: 2 catches (2 targets), 14 yards

DeCarlos Brooks: 1 catch (3 targets), 7 yards

Damien Moore: 1 catch (1 target), 6 yards

Defense

Craig Woodson: 11 tackles (10 solo)

Oluwafemi Oladejo: 6 tackles (4 solo), 1 tackle for loss

Jackson Sirmon: 5 tackles (2 solo)

Tyson McWilliams: 4 tackles (2 solo)

Miles Williams: 4 tackles (3 solo), 1 pass breakup