Orange County Register

Perhaps the most surprising play in the USC-Oregon State game happened when the Trojans had first-and-goal from the 6-yard line in the second quarter.

Jeremy Bates called for a quarterback sweep — a play he used to run with Jay Cutler in Denver but one I hadn’t seen USC practice. Also, it’s not exactly what you’d expect to see from Matt Barkley, who’s generally a classic pocket passer. (Why the coaches didn’t put in any plays like this for Aaron Corp at Washington still escapes me.)

But Barkley, who’s obviously a good athlete, ran it well, gaining 5 yards. On the next play, he scored via quarterback sneak.

If it seems as if the coaches are putting Barkley at risk by running those types of plays, they aren’t.

“The harder hits are when you’re in the pocket and don’t expect to get hit,” Bates said.

Besides, Barkley is pretty filled out for a 19-year-old - about 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds with thick legs. And he’s initiating the contact in those situations.

“The kid’s a complete football player,” Bates said.

More from the USC blog:

• USC football: Pac-10 honors Bradford, Williams
• Report card: Grading the Trojans (vs. Oregon State)
• USC football: Why isn’t Cincinnati ahead of Trojans?
• USC football: Carroll not rolled by Tide
• USC football: Carroll questions BCS, polls — again
• USC football: Carroll — no word on McCoy, McKnight
• USC football: Trojans move up in BCS standings
• USC football: Five observations from Trojans 42, Beavers 36
• USC football: Complete wrapup of Trojans-Beavers
• Stafon Johnson inspires Trojans in return to Coliseum

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.