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USC football: At least Matt Barkley was OK
November 2nd, 2009, 10:00 am · 56 Comments · posted by Michael Lev, staff writer
Who would have thought a few months ago that freshman quarterback Matt Barkley would be the least of USC’s worries?
Barkley didn’t play a great game at Oregon — he was just 5 of 16 in the second half — but he generally acquitted himself well, providing the thinnest of silver linings on an otherwise dreary night.
“He was pretty solid,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “I thought he handled himself pretty well under the circumstances.”
They were not ideal.
After taking a 3-0 lead, USC constantly was playing from behind. By the end of the third quarter, the Trojans had a three-score deficit. Barkley had little choice but to pass.
Those hoping for a Mitch Mustain sighting at the end of the game probably were disappointed to see Barkley still in there (although C.J. Gable did make a rare appearance). Carroll wanted his freshman to get some experience running the two-minute offense.
“We may need that sometime down the road here,” Carroll said.
Whenever that is, Barkley is equipped to handle it. He provides undeniable hope for the future amid a present that’s muddled to say the least.
POLL: WHAT’S THE WORST USC LOSS OF THE PETE CARROLL ERA?
More from the USC blog:
- Report card: Grading the Trojans (vs. Oregon)
- USC football: Insight into the defensive breakdowns
- USC football: Trojans plummet to 12th in BCS standings
- USC football: Malcolm Smith likely is ‘out for a while’
- USC football: Five observations from Oregon 47, USC 20
- USC football: Complete wrapup of Trojans-Ducks
- USC football: Postgame injury update
- USC football: End of an era
- USC football: Ducks 47, Trojans 20 (final)
- USC football: Ducks 24, Trojans 17 (halftime)
- USC football: Best PG-13 T-shirt award
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NCAA offensive stats: Total Offense, USC #28; Scoring Offense, USC #37. The offense is doing much better than the defense right now.
However, after next week, we will have played 6 of 9 on the road, including 4 games against ranked teams on the road! Anyone else in the country done that? We have the most difficult schedule thus far of any ranked team, per Sagarin. The road ahead is much easier.
The glass half full says that we have been through a brutal schedule thus far, but it is all downhill from here. A Trojan Road Warriors post might be deserving, Lev?
Brutal road scheduled. That’s an understatement. I don’t know of any other of the so call top teams with a road schedule like ours. But, they are considered to be the leaders in the polls.. Go figure…
are you kiddin me. if barkley was as good as people want to believe he is then he would have made plays. people had no problem blaming corp when the team had a bad game, but now that barkley has a bad game you blame everybody but him. people need to get over their love afair with this kid.
I turned the game off after a couple of minutes of the 3rd quar, knowing the game was getting sour but what I saw of Barkley, I thought he did pretty good considering the circumstances. Some passes were off but oh well.
As far as the schedule goes, the big schools from the SEC and Big 12 would NEVER schedule two road games in one season to the West Coast like we did with two games to the Mid-West within five weeks from eachother. Whoever schedules games at USC need to get their act together. It probably was a mistake that was to late to correct but LSU, Alabama, TX, Ohio State etc would NEVER make that mistake.
Haha…PC and his BFF Barkley got crushed….cost the school millions in BCS bowl money!
A brutal road schedule this year means a very favorable schedule next year, with home games for Oregon, Cal, UW, and Notre Dame. If we fix some things, change some things, and finish the year strong, this team will be set up very nicely for a run next year. And the one after that, and the one after that.
I mentioned so many reasons that USC would be weak this year and one of them was the road schedule. I remember all you SC fans telling me I was an idiot and had no idea what I was talking about. “Pete Carroll has his players stay in hotels even at home games so road games don’t make a difference. Home or away we are six deep at every position and are not rebuilding we are reloading”. Do you all remember saying this prior to the season.
SC got embarrassed and Barkley looked like a deer caught in the headlights. If this had been a close game then I would let SC get away with the road game excuse. But, this was a straight out beating and it was sad.
Do you want to know why Oregon won. They know how to play football. I think in the whole game I saw them miss one maybe two open field tackles. Heck the SC players couldn’t even bring down the running back in the middle of the field with 7 guys around him, pathetic. Maybe USC will stop having Will Ferrel show up at practice now and spend time actually learning how to tackle.
Be thankful it’s over and pray the BCS does not make you play some SEC team or even worse go up again Boise State. The embarassing lose will be too much for you guys to handle.
I was waiting for this. Excuses,excuses excuses, just face it. Road, home or on the moon SC is just a decent football team. Yes Barkley looked OK in games against teams SC was supposed to beat, but if SC was half as good as you wanna be football players they would not have gotten killed by Oregon who is just a good team. It’s time to wake up and realize that PC’s love affair with MB will never win you a national title. Thanks Ducks for showing them what “GOD” oh I mean PC is made of.
GO Big C!!!
I love these haters. If USC is so bad, as pointed out by several people above, then Oregon beat a nobody and the teams USC beat are the pits. If USC is so bad, and if Barkley is so bad, how did they beat Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Cal all on the road in the biggest game of the year for each of those teams? Those teams must be terrible, I mean they lost to USC that can’t tackle, defend, or block, and everyone that has those teams ranked in the top 25, including the BCS computers, are just idiots because USC should be ranked 50th. I don’t think so.
Everyone brings it when they play SC, but SC still won in 3 of its 4 big games. If Oregon is so good, then Boise State should be favored by 20 over any team in the country. If Oregon is so good, then it shouldn’t matter that it was the first game of the season. I like USC over Boise State anywhere anytime, and I hope it happens.
USC lost a game. Anyone can lose. People act so surprised like Pete Carrol personally planned this lost. USC is loaded with talent and the best coach in the last 10 years. I think SC comes back this week and wins out and then blowouts somebody in the Orange or Fiesta bowl. I hope they play Boise State and then beat the team that has beat the Ducks two times in two years.
Fight on!
Actually lewis082 USC has not lost a penny in BCS money. That money is spread over all teams in the conference. So whoever goes to the Rose Bowl (or any other BCS Bowl) has no choice but to share the money with the other nine teams in conference.
Matt Barkley was OK? LOL Uhhhhh sure he was. That’s why he came out in the second half and led his team to…a field goal and nothing more? LOL It’s pretty sad how everyone is STILL coddling the Trojans after they completely dissected by Oregon. Why must this average team continually be put a pedestal by the media?
LOL love all the whiney Trojans fans using the road schedule, and anything else they can think of, as an excuse. Lame.
What about the rain? Aren’t you whiners gonna blame the loss on the rain?
The receivers were covered almost every time Barkley had to throw. He did what he could. The defense had no answer for Oregon’s offense in the second half. The offense could have kept them in the game if the defense had not given up so many points consecutively.
oh look it’s marie here again making her usual stupid comments. USC will be back - let’s just hope marie isn’t.
Thank You tondizzle85 for excuse #317. Bottom line is Matt Barkley failed, just like the rest of the Trojans. This was such a tremendous whomping, no one thing would’ve changed the outcome. RIP Trojan’s 2009 season. It was fun while it lasted.
If SC sucks so bad, why do fans charged the field after the games? If SC sucks so bad, why do teams get so much love after beating them? I do not see fans and teams getting excited when they beat Washington State. SC is has great tradition and will continue to have great succes going forward. I cannot stand Florida, Texas or Ohio St., however, I would be a fool to try to dminish their accomplishments the way people does SC.
oh look it’s franklymydearI here again boohooing on the Trojans behalf. USC’s season is done - let’s just hope franklymydearl is as well.
HAHA marie, USC STILL ranks well above your beloved Bruins - must be sad being you.
HAHA franklymyteamchoked, you wish I was a Bruins fan. My unbeaten team is alive and well, thanks for asking. Sorry your team knocked themselves out of contention with their two super-humiliating losses.
HAHAHAHA mariemybruinssuckmorethanthetrojans I hope you have a lot of tissue on hand come 11/28.
Oh my Marie I forgot. One of the moron SC lovers did blame the rain for the loss to Washington. The excuse machine is great. This is my new favorite excuse “All the other teams play really hard when they play SC that is why it is not fair”. Do you wanna know why the fans rush the field after they beat SC it is because they have heart unlike any of the players for SC.
I am not trying to diminish anything USC has done over the last 7 years they had a great run. I said it last year USC had the best defense in the BCS and looked unstoppable at the end of the year.
This year I pointed out that the guys on defense are undersized (and now I know can’t tackle). I also said a true freshman QB will be decent but not great considering they have a great Offensive line he gets all day to throw.
Oregon was the only game that mattered this year for USC end of story and they blew it big time. Let’s look at the other supposedly big games - Ohio State almost lost to Navy at home the week before playing USC, Cal got a real beating against Oregon a week before playing USC, and Notre Dame that was a toss up which is how every Notre Dame game goes this year. USC has done nothing to prove they deserve a BCS game.
Any USC fan talking garbage after the dismantling they just witnessed should really have their heads checked.
Lev’s right…Barkley did OK. It’s not his job to tackle people. The D was the obvious problem, especially in the second half. Oregon averaged 6.5 yards a play in the second half, and they ran 51 plays. Stop and think about that…on average…. they run a play and get six yards, then they run another play and get seven yards, and that two play cycle repeats over for 26 times. Just mind boggling how porous, unprepared, outplayed, whatever negative adjective you want to use, the D was.
donmac you are 100% correct. It’s pretty sad that Trojans fans like franklymydearl can’t just congratulate the Ducks on an incredible performance and instead want to make excuses and hurl insults. All that won’t change the fact that USC’s season is basically over and we’re only hours into the month of November.
Oh I did congratulate Oregon and I have made zero excuses. It is you marie, who’s ONLY purpose is to come on these boards and hurl insults and childish attempts to belittle the Trojans - which makes you pathetic to say the very least.
We’re here to talk about Matt Barkley Marie, and this is not an Oregon Duck fan base we’re talking about DUH!!!!! (lope)
MB has come a long way, I think all the non-SC fans don’t like the fact that he is progressing and the PAC-10 is worried about the next 3 years and what MB brings to the playing field.
No doubt the Trojans were out played turn the chapter and move on.
Nobody is worried about Matt Barkley buddy. He is way over rated just like the USC defense. But if putting your faith in him helps you sleep at night then go ahead and do that.
Okay Kaimana, let’s talk about Matt Barkley. The bottom line is he lost. Big time. He failed. He couldn’t lead his offense to more than a field goal in the entire second half. Was it only his fault? No. But for all the blah blah blah we’ve heard about great he is, he sure didn’t look it on Saturday. It’s amazing how average Barkley looks when he’s not playing some lowly team. As usual, the Trojans are overranked and continue to be. This is not the #12 team in the country. Not even close.
franklymyteamchoked, I’m not whing, I’m celebrating. In case you didn’t hear, USC got CRUSHED and HUMILIATED by the Ducks. The score was 47-20.
Barkley for Heisman. What a joke. Shows you what some good Pete Carroll media hype can do. There’s nothing that can be said now to put this kid in the lime light. He had 27 yards passing in the second half until that last pass, oops, second to last pass. Can’t anyone man up and call a spade a spade. He sucked, the offense sucked, the defense sucked, Pete sucked, Rocky sucked, Bates sucked. The got killed.
Damn JDub!! Why the hostile attitude towards us? You’re a UW fan right? Worry about UW and not us. Enjoy your victory over SC this year because it won’t happen next season.
Blah blah blah, next year, blah blah blah. This is 2009, Cryin’ Brian, the year that USC choked to unranked Washington and got disemboweled by Oregon. You don’t know what will happen next year. Considering you said USC would be at the BCS championship game this year, you can’t even predict what will happen this year.
Blah blah blah, marie’s talking blah blah blah etc………..
Maybe everyone will take their noses out of Barkley’s butt now and stop drinking PC’s cool-ade. If he was so good then they should have matched Oregon score for score. I’m so sick of hearing about this guy and how great he is. The Trojans have been winning IN SPITE of him and not BECAUSE of him!
You are so right, lewis082. It’s truly pathetic the praise this guy got before he even did anything. Barkley shut down in the second half in embarrassing fashion, but the media still made excuses for him. These must be some of the same pollsters who coddle USC week after week, including onl dropping them to #12 when they ripped apart by Oregon and after already choking to unranked Washington.
How do you spell redundancy? M A R I E
How do you spell sore loser? F R A N K L Y M Y D E A R L. Just so you know, targeting me is not going to change the fact that Matt Barkley came up waaay short on Saurday versus Oregon. He failed miserably, even if i wasn’t just his fault. The golden child got spanked and good. I mean c’mon, we’ve been hearing how reat this guy is and all he could do in the second half was get a field goal? LOL
How do you spell sore loser? F R A N K L Y M Y D E A R L. Just so you know, targeting me is not going to change the fact that Matt Barkley came up waaay short on Saurday versus Oregon. He failed miserably, even if i wasn’t just his fault. The golden child got spanked and good. I mean c’mon, we’ve been hearing how great this guy is and all he could do in the second half was get a field goal? LOL
Oh you’re so original - NOT. BTW it’s not DEARL, it’s DEARI - or was that just another one of your typos? I know how you love to point out everyone else’s typos. Matt didn’t come up nearly as short as the defense giving up 600 plus yards, but you keep blaming Matt if it makes you feel better. The guy is 6-1 as a true freshman, (three against rated teams - still rated teams) that’s pretty impressive in anybody’s (but your) book. And the best thing - he’s got three more years to play!!!
I guess I could post it again so I could be as repetitive as you marie. LOL
Yes frankly, or you could be even more repetitive and post your incorrect “Marie is a Bruins fan” statement for the 1,000th time. Maybe balloons will fall from the ceiling.
Q: What’s the difference between the USC Trojans and Cheerios?
A: Cheerios belongs in a bowl.
Cute one Mario.
Anymore funny jokes about injured players you would like to tell?
No Qbert, that’s your department. Go ahead.
Time for some USC jokes everybody!
Q: Did you hear that someone purchased the USC Trojans and is going to move them to Alaska?
A: They are going to rename them the Arctic Chokes.
Q: What do birthday candles and the USC Trojans have in
common?
A: They get blown out every year.
Q. What’s the difference between a dollar bill and the USC Trojans?
A. You can get four quarters from a dollar bill…
The Seven Dwarfs were marching through the forest one day and they fell in a deep, dark ravine. Snow White, who was following along, peered over the edge of the steep chasm and called out to the fallen dwarfs. From the depths of the dark hole a voice returned, “The USC Trojans are BCS contenders.” Snow White thought to herself, “Thank goodness… at least Dopey’s survived!”
Oh so funny Mario. Let’s see, you like to make jokes about:
1. Injured Trojan players
2. Special education children
Are you sure you don’t have a cute little diddy for us about kids on chemo therapy?
You’re so funny and classy, you must have some jokes about them?
No but I have plenty of USC football jokes following the teams pounding last Saturday in Oregon. And let’s be honest, it was a POUNDING.
Oh what’s wrong little Mario?
Are you starting to feel a little shame about your hateful posts about injured football players and special needs kids?
Come on buck up little guy and give us one of your patented jokes about cancer patients. I bet you have a lot of those you haven’t used yet.
I bet it makes you feel better.
The Trojans absolutely CHOKED last week at Oregon, losing 76-20, which means it’s time for more USC football jokes!
Q: How are the USC Trojans are like a possum?
A: Both get killed on the road.
Q: What does the average USC football player get on his IQ test?
A: Drool!
Q: What’s the difference between a BCS Championship USC team and a UFO?
A. Someone has seen a UFO.
Q: What do you call a USC Trojan with a BCS Championship ring?
A. A thief
Q: What do you call a Trojans fan with half a brain?
A: Gifted!
LOL!!! Maybe next year, Trojans. But probably not!
We all know what you said and you can’t defend it, so change the subject with more jokes!
How about some your patented jokes about kids in wheelchairs!
What’s wrong quintiam, trying to shift the focus away from your 2007 arrest for having ‘relations’ with your neighbor’s dog? You are a SICK man and should be locked away.
Oh no, poor little Mario has ran out of jokes about kids in wheelchairs and he is now bringing up dark, dark memories from his past.
Hey Mario, regale us again with your stories about “prison romances.”
Poor Mario, has to make up lies from whole cloth now.
Mario you:
1. Brought up prison romances
2. Made jokes about injured Trojan players
3. Made jokes about special education kids
That’s all true, no matter how hard to you try to ignore it.
Hey Mario, let’s hear one about the kids with cancer. I bet you have a bunch of those.
Getting back to football, Barkey was not okay. He couldn’t do anything in the second half. This proves the Golden Boy isn’t so golden after all.
Marie, er Mario:
In the last 3 months, you have:
1. Wished death upon all Trojan players and alumni
2. Made jokes about injured Trojan players (twice)
3. Made jokes about special education children
4. Made jokes about “forced prison romances”
5. Made jokes about bestiality
The Mods and other maggots may tolerate your disgusting humor here but I will not.
Please take your childish banality elsewhere.