No doubt Matt Barkley did not look like a true freshman after the first quarter of the game against San Jose State. By the time he was taking off his shoulder pads he was 15 of 19 for 233 yards and a touchdown.
But USC’s running backs and offensive line deserve a lot of credit for that. Even if they didn’t throw a pass.
The Trojans dominated the game on the ground, particularly when they started to take control in the second quarter. As a team, the Trojans rushed for 342 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. They scored six touchdowns on the ground.
It’s a lot easier to make a young quarterback look good when any handoff is as likely to score a touchdown as a deep post pattern. Joe McKnight was like Barkley’s Jerry Rice, the threat to score on any play, every handoff to him had USC fans rising out of their seats. He rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including one 54-yard scamper. Marc Tyler added 72 yards, Stafon Johnson added two more scores.
It was the perfect way to take the pressure off of Barkley, and the respect the Spartans had to show the running game opened up passing lanes, particularly when Barkley rolled out.
If USC wants to improve to 2-0, they are going to need another performance like that.
Ohio State is not San Jose State — the Buckeyes have the talent to be a top 10 team. Trojan fans should not let Ohio State’s close victory over Navy fool them, Navy is a bowl team with an unconventional offense and a bunch of hard-nosed, never-say-die players. Lou Holtz wasn’t kidding, it’s not that easy to beat Navy.
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Plus, you can bet the Buckeye players were looking ahead to the early season game circled on their schedule, some payback for USC. There will be 105,000 screaming Ohio State fans who have had the same game circled on their schedule as well.
That environment is enough to rattle a veteran quarterback, let alone a true freshman playing his first road game ever. But if all Barkley has to do to get the offense on track is hand the ball off, the second Saturday of the season could look a lot like the first.
