Another week, another fallen Trojan whose injury could have been the perfect excuse for disappointing loss – but USC did not need Stafon Johnson Saturday, as No. 7 Southern Cal (4-1, 2-1) handily disposed of California (3-2, 0-2), 30-3, in Berkeley.

Tailback Joe McKnight scored two touchdowns on 20 carries and 119 yards rushing, and freshman quarterback Matt Barkley completed 20 of 35 passes for 283 yards as the Trojans limited a hyped-up California offense to 285 total yards compared to 457 total yards for USC. The reeling Bears, who entered the game ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll, failed to score a touchdown in consecutive conference losses, being outscored 72-6 in their last two games despite entering the season as a Top 15 program.

Southern Cal acknowledged Johnson, recovering from throat surgery after a freak weightlifting accident last week, was a big factor for the players on Saturday.

“He was a big motivator for us,” Barkley told the Associated Press. “Stafon knew we were on a mission tonight. I’m proud of our guys and how we played.”

Meanwhile, the Bruins were not so fortunate on the other side of the bay, as the Cardinal defeated UCLA, 24-16, at Stanford on Saturday afternoon. The UCLA defense failed to contain a Stanford team that strung together scoring drives of 80, 83 and 75 yards.

Keying the Cardinal victory was running back Toby Gerhart, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for 134 yards and 29 carries to help Stanford improve to 4-1 (3-0 in Pac-10).

Quarterback Kevin Craft had a decent outing for UCLA, completing 22 of 34 passes for 204 yards and had zero interceptions. However, the Bruins struggled to find the end zone and convert on third downs, earning a first down just two times on 10 attempts.

The Trojans have a bye this week but travel to Notre Dame Oct. 17, while the Bruins prepare for No. 13 Oregon at the Rose Bowl.