BERKELEY – A staunch defensive effort put the Cal football team on level footing with No. 5-ranked USC through three quarters but the Trojans took control early in the fourth quarter and the Bears couldn't claw their way back as they fell 30-20 at California Memorial Stadium.

Turnovers proved a hurdle tough to overcome for Cal (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) as the Bears gave the ball away six times to USC after only turning the ball over five times in their first three games combined. Cal outgained the Trojans, 416-356, in total offense and held USC quarterback Sam Darnold to just 223 passing yards, over 100 yards less than his average through three games.

USC (4-0, 2-0) struck first in the fourth quarter, taking the lead on a 46-yard field goal by Chase McGrath with 14:05 left to play. Though the Trojans pushed the score to 16-13 with the kick, Cal's defense stiffened when asked as the Bears stopped a third-down attempt by pressuring Darnold to throw wide and long of his intended target in the end zone.

The Trojans turned the tide on the first play of Cal's next drive. A pass attempt by Ross Bowers slipped from his hand on the way out and landed in the arms of USC's Uchenna Nwosu for a fumble to give the Trojans that ball on the Cal 3. Two plays later, Stephen Carr bowled his way into the end zone from two yards out to put USC ahead 23-13.

An interception by Ykili Ross on Cal's next drive gave the ball back to USC at the Cal 33 and the Trojans turned the opportunity into seven points on a four-yard pass from Darnold to Deontay Burnett. An 8-yard touchdown pass from Cal's Ross Bowers to Jordan Veasy with 1:53 left provided the final points of the day.

"We were disappointed. We came into the game expecting to win and we just didn't make enough plays at the critical times," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "Our guys, they fought and played extremely hard, and we knew it would be a battle against a team like that, and it was. We were tight there until the fourth quarter and then there were a series of plays that we went from 16-13 down three getting the ball, and within a matter of minutes it was 30-13 and the end of the game. We have so much to learn from and so much room to grow. Everybody in that locker room is disappointed, but we can't be discouraged."

Neither team hit the scoreboard in the third quarter, with each letting a chance to take the lead slip away. In Cal's case, a 29-yard field goal attempt by Matt Anderson on the first drive of the half sailed wide left while USC had its own opportunity inside Cal territory but a fourth-and-one from the Bears' 29 ended with Carr being taken to the ground by Traveon Beck and James Looney short of the first-down marker.

A 21-yard field goal by Anderson as time expired sent the Bears and Trojans to intermission tied at 13 after a half in which both teams looked to gain their footing on both sides of the ball.

Field goals for both sides, a 36-yarder for Anderson and a 37-yarder for USC's McGrath, got the scoring started and left the score tied at 3-3 after a quarter. Cal forged ahead on the second play of the second period though, with a one-yard cutback run by Vic Enwere culminating a 12-play, 60-yard drive to give the Golden Bears a 10-3 lead.

USC countered on its next drive as Darnold drove the Trojans right down the field with an eight-play, 74-yard drive that ended in the end zone thanks to a 16-yard pass from Darnold to Tyler Petite. A Cal fumble provided more momentum for the Trojans but it took the Bears just one play to take that mojo back as Malik Psalms forced a USC fumble and Luc Bequette recovered to give Cal the ball back.

McGrath added a 34-yard field goal with 1:59 left in the half to put USC up but Anderson's kick before halftime knotted the score again.

Kanawai Noa finished with a career-high-tying six catches for a career-high 110 yards for the Bears, while Vic Wharton III had six receptions for 86 yards and Veasy caught four balls for 56 yards and the touchdown. Bowers completed 22-of-50 passes for 303 yards and one touchdown but also had six turnovers with four interceptions and two fumbles. Patrick Laird rushed 15 times for 82. Devante Downs recorded a career-high-tying 14 tackles with 0.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards) and one quarterback hurry.

With Saturday's game against the Trojans closing out a three-game homestand, the Bears now get set to hit the road for a 7:30 pm PT matchup at Oregon on Saturday. Cal heads back to the Pacific Northwest one week later for a game at Washington with the kickoff time yet to be announced before returning to California Memorial Stadium on Friday, Oct. 13 to take on Washington State. Kickoff against the Cougars is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.