BERKELEY >> USC did not play with the same crispness as it had against Utah, but the Trojans played Cal, so it did not matter because they still came away with a 27-21 victory Saturday afternoon before 50,016 at Memorial Stadium.
A workmanlike performance was good enough for USC to dispatch the slumping Bears (5-3, 2-3), who lost their third straight and are in another midseason meltdown. It was the Trojans’ 12th straight victory over Cal since the Bears’ famous 2003 triple-overtime upset.
The happiest Trojan was cornerback Adoree Jackson, who intercepted the first pass of his college career and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown.