Statistically, the Cal Golden Bears are more impressive than the USC Trojans in 2018. That alone should probably be a fireable offense for Clay Helton.
Is Clay Helton going to get fired this season? Will the USC Trojans make a move to get rid of their embattled coach? Would it take a loss to one of the weirdest teams in the country to make that move happen? Because, if we’re being honest here, California could end Clay Helton’s career at USC.
Despite the fact that Cal is a member of the Pac-12, the Golden Bears really aren’t all that special on offense. In fact, it’s Cal’s defense that is actually winning the Golden Bears’ games and that’s a relatively recent development. After starting the season 3-0, the Golden Bears slogged through a three-game losing streak, with all of those losses coming to conference foes. And then, out of nowhere, Cal took down then No. 15 Washington in an ugly, 12-10 win.
Last weekend, Cal almost killed Washington State’s outside shot at the College Football Playoffs with an upset bid that came up short. This team with a horrific offense is capable of ending seasons, hopes, and dreams, and it’s coming for Clay Helton this weekend.
Cal is a team that is slow, inefficient, and mistake prone. And it still wins games.
Cal isn’t a fun team to watch unless you enjoy seeing dull offenses throw more interceptions than touchdowns. If so, this is definitely the team you need to watch. However, in spite of their awful offense, the Golden Bears are winning games and are one win away from locking up bowl eligibility.
Never mind the fact that this team has two quarterbacks who have combined to throw 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season. Ignore the sluggish offense that is 65th in the country in converting third downs this year. Focus instead on the defense. Take a look at the defense that is now the 31st ranked scoring defense in the country and is improving by the week. Check out the pass defense that is tied for 7th in the country at intercepting passes.
This is a team that will make mistakes, but it’s going to make sure that you make more of them. That’s dangerous for a team like USC, who is still trying to find any sort of identity on offense and is prone to errors.
The USC Trojans are relying on a freshman quarterback to keep their offense moving and there’s still only so much that JT Daniels can do. He’s certainly a talented quarterback that can make plays happen fairly regularly, but Daniels is also certainly a victim of high expectations and is still a freshman. Just a few weeks back, Utah forced the young quarterback to throw a couple of picks while he completed fewer than 40 percent of his passes.
Which almost-bowl eligible team is going to make more mistakes?
This question is what will ultimately decide this game. Which of these teams, who both make a multitude of errors in any given game, will be able to come out on top a claim bowl eligibility with a win? Given how these teams have performed in recent years, only one would truly be happy with making it to any possible bowl this year.
The USC Trojans boast a more talented roster and get the luxury of playing this game at home. Unfortunately for USC, it’s not clear whether or not the Trojans will actually have much of a home-field advantage given how this season has gone and the fact that they only had 47,406 fans at their last home game.
There’s a realistic chance that Cal will be the end of the line for Clay Helton, and it probably should be. A program as prestigious as USC shouldn’t be struggling the way that it is this year. It wasn’t that long ago that this team was competing in the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. Now, this team may not even make it to a bowl game if it loses to Cal this weekend. This team has regressed from where it should be.
Cal, on the other hand, has to be happy with how this year has gone. The Golden Bears have matched their win totals from 2016 and 2017. This program is slowly on the rise and would definitely be happy to simply make it to a bowl this season. To do that, though, the Golden Bears need to make sure that they make fewer mistakes than the USC Trojans on Saturday night.