After last weekend's upset loss to Stanford, the once-highly-ranked USC Trojans need all the positives they can muster, and they can find plenty with the California Golden Bears coming to town on Saturday.

You just couldn't ask for better timing for the arrival of the Bears, fresh off their own competitive but painful loss at Ohio State. Like Stanford treats the Trojans, the Trojans, who opened this week as 17-point favorites, treat Cal.

For USC, Cal could be the cure to all that ails it.

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Greg Katz | email

Columnist, WeAreSC.com

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• USC Trojans columnist
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• Joined ESPN.com in 2011