FanHouse Matt Barkley

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Observations and opinions on Saturday's USC-Notre Dame clash:

Sure, Notre Dame came close, but imagine how much better quarterback Matt Barkley will be 13 months from now in the Los Angeles Coliseum. By the way, listening to both Pete Carroll and Barkley speaking to the media after the game, it sounds as if the USC head coach has engineered his own Mini-Me.

Here is a portion of what Carroll had to say about Barkley, who after all did toss for 380 yards, is 5-0 as a starter and has won on the road in Columbus, Berkeley and South Bend: "Matt Barkley is really something,'' Carroll said. "The plays he's capable of making, there's no limit for him. He's just remarkable -- there's no other way to describe it. There's no one else to compare him to in our history. He's so poised, so comfortable in the arena. He has this great inner strength."

And you thought Charlie Weis had a man-crush on Jimmy Clausen ...

When in doubt, play defense. That seems to be the philosophy right now at USC, which has taken an offense with nine returning starters and the nation's best offensive line and driven it into a ditch for large stretches of this season. And so it was on the road Saturday, the USC Trojans steadily outplaying the Cal Bears on the way to a 30-3 victory.

Mirroring last week's performance against Washington State, USC came out firing offensively in building a 20-0 second-quarter lead, eventually cooled, and still cruised to victory behind yet another dominating defensive performance. Strange days considering that defense was one of the best of this era last year and graduated the bulk of its talent to the NFL.

USC once again followed a tired pattern Saturday, losing its Pac-10 road opener to Washington thanks to a bevy of offensive problems. Sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp, starting in place of injured freshman Matt Barkley was ineffective, tossing a pair of interceptions inside the Washington 30-yard line as USC fell to the Huskies 16-13. Washington kicked a 22-yard field goal with seconds remaining to eclipse the No. 3 Trojans.

USC's Pac-10 troubles are well established, having lost to Oregon State in 2008, Stanford and Oregon in 2007, UCLA in 2006 and Cal in 2003. The road openers have been predictably troublesome, with the Cal and Oregon State losses in that mix. Of particular embarrassment, USC coach Pete Carroll lost to disciple Steve Sarkisian, who only last week snapped a 15-game losing streak for the troubled Washington football program.

LOS ANGELES -- When USC's first-string offense takes the field at Washington on Saturday, the Trojans are expected to have third-year sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp leading the way.

Corp will be making his first career start after watching true freshman Matt Barkley lead USC to victories over San Jose State and Ohio State to open the season.

Just So You Know ...Three of the largest venues in the country -- Michigan Stadium, Ohio Stadium and Neyland Stadium -- featured a game decided by four or fewer points in which the quarterback of the winning team was a cool freshman from Southern California with precocious poise. So if you're nervous about that first chemistry exam you'll be taking with 800 other students, ask the nerdy kid from Santa Ana to take it for you.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- So what if he was surrounded by 106,000 loons, all standing and shaking and shrieking in the fabled Horseshoe, all sensing a merciful end to Ohio State's humiliating big-game-loss stigma? So what if the forbidding first few notes of the White Stripes screamer, "Seven Nation Army,'' kept pounding through the speakers like a throbbing headache? So what if USC was stuck at its 5-yard line, looking at second-and-19 and a five-point deficit with six minutes left?

And so what if Matt Barkley's throwing shoulder was aching, a victim of a throwdown by defensive tackle Nathan Williams? Somehow, none of these issues gave Barkley any reason for pause Saturday night. He wears No. 7, like another California-bred quarterback who once forged a legend deep in his own territory in a hostile environment. Just as John Elway told his mates that they had their opponents right where they wanted them, Barkley had calming words for the Trojans when all seemed lost. The difference between the two?

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The embattled Ohio State football program -- losers of five straight against elite programs -- made its stand. Saturday night was going to be the place where they bucked history and reclaimed some former glory in toppling No. 3 USC. Over 106,000 fans, most in Ohio Stadium history, made life hell for the visitors from sunny California. The Buckeye defense made stop after stop, harassing the Trojan run game and freshman quarterback Matt Barkley over four solid quarters. They made their stand, but in soul-crushing fashion, they once again failed.

Trailing 15-10 and looking ready to wilt, USC mounted a 14-play, 86-yard, six minute touchdown drive to go ahead 18-15 with just over a minute left. Same. Old. Story. Not enough.

Pac-10 teams begin their second week of play on Saturday, highlighted by No. 3 USC's trip to Columbus to play Ohio State. It means nothing but consensus leans heavily towards the Trojans despite it being a cover of darkness road game before what Eleven Warriors calls 105,000 of college football's best hooligans, despite starting a true freshman quarterback in Matt Barkley and despite Ohio State having the tiebreaker of all tiebreakers in Terrelle Pryor.

Yeah, USC's loaded. The rest of the conference lineup Saturday is a mixed bag filled with one big road trip to SEC country, a couple middling names and a handful of regional cupcakes. Mmm, cupcakes. Wait, no, bad Pac-10. Time to bag some fresh game out of say, Knoxville? Hmmm, maybe not.

LOS ANGELES -- The afternoon sun was orgasmic, framing the Memorial Coliseum in a California daydream as the USC band played its triumphant post-game march. Yet nothing was more radiant than Matt Barkley's smile. He was standing at midfield after his debut, engulfed by media wondering if an 18-year-old true freshman can be worthy of college football's answer to a Hollywood processional: Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart to John David Booty to Mark Sanchez to ...

The buzz for USC heading into Saturday was true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, but after the Trojans' 56-3 thrashing of San Jose State the men in the trenches proved to be the real show. After a shaky first quarter that saw the Trojans trailing 3-0 thanks to three punts and two turnovers, the offensive line took over creating massive lanes on the way to a 342 yard rushing effort (7.6 yards/carry). The line also pass blocked brilliantly, leaving Barkley nearly limitless time to throw.

On the other side of the ball the Trojans' defense logged a stunning 16 tackles for loss in limiting the Spartans to a meek 121 yards of total offense. There's no doubt Barkley is a talent and had his moments in an otherwise conservative passing game plan, but the Trojans' lines really got after it on Saturday in a manner that if it can be repeated next weekend against Ohio State will go a long way towards championship talk this season.