USC’s reign over the Pac-10 is officially over after Stanford obliterated the Trojans, 55-21 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

This was the first time USC has lost in November under Pete Carroll, who was 28-0 coming into this game. It was also the first homecoming loss for USC under Carroll and the worst loss in the Carroll Era, topping a 47-20 defeat at the hands of Oregon two weeks ago.

USC found out today what most of the Pac-10 already knew: That Toby Gerhart is pretty freaking good. The senior running back gained 178 yards on 29 carries for a 6.1 YPC average and also scored three touchdowns. Much like he was last week against Oregon, Gerhart served as a Mac truck and often ran threw USC defenders. His draft stock has risen dramatically the past two weeks.

Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley had a rough day for the Trojans. He turned the ball over four times, which lead to 28 points for the Cardinal. He never looked comfortable and it showed as he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a defensive touchdown.

Barkley clearly has a ton of talent, but he needs time to develop. This turned out to be a horrible year by USC standards, but at least he gained a lot of experience. He’s a gunslinger by nature, but he needs to cut down on the turnovers if he wants to take his game to the next level.

On the other side, Jim Harbaugh has something great building at Stanford. His team competes every week and while they’ll lose a lot when Gerhart graduates after the season, it’s clear that he has this program moving in the right direction.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/14/stanford-crushes-usc-as-barkley-struggles/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/04/most-disappointing-college-football-teams-of-2009/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/04/most-disappointing-college-football-teams-of-2009/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:45:15 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=28272

FOX Sports.com ranked the 10 most disappointing teams of 2009:

1. USC
A loss to Washington was the beginning of the end. Still, we’ve almost come to expect the Trojans to lose one game every year that they shouldn’t. While USC was slightly favored to beat Oregon, the manner in which they lost was downright ugly. Pete Carroll’s signature unit — the defense — got embarrassed by the Ducks. Sure, USC had to replace eight defensive players who are now playing on Sundays, but the Trojans always have reloaded, and the expectations were high this year despite those defensive losses. USC fans accustomed to “settling” for the Rose Bowl may need to aim a little lower.

2. Virginia Tech
The class of the ACC is now fighting Miami for third place in the Coastal division behind Duke and Georgia Tech. Let that sink that in. The Hokies’ consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina have probably ended their Orange Bowl dreams. Either Beamer Ball isn’t working anymore or parity in the ACC has finally caught up to Virginia Tech. Either way, 2009 will be a major disappointment for Gobbler Nation.

3. Ohio State
The Buckeyes’ loss to USC wasn’t that shocking, but their loss to Purdue was. With Navy, USC, Toledo and New Mexico State on their non-conference schedule, the expectations of a special season were pretty high in Columbus. But plenty of fans are starting to question whether Tressel’s offense will work with Terrelle Pryor as quarterback. With Penn State, Iowa and an imploding Michigan still left on the Buckeyes’ schedule, Ohio State fans should start making travel plans for Tampa, site of the Outback Bowl. Now.

A lot of people thought they were overrated coming into the season, but I think Ole Miss (which ranks No. 7 on FOX’s list) should be in the top 5. I know they lost a couple of key defenders from last year’s squad, but for the Rebels to currently be 5-3 is surprising to say the least.

Big Ten haters aren’t surprised, but Ohio State wasn’t expected to be this inconsistent either. Some thought that Terrelle Pryor would progress as a passer and lead the Buckeyes to at least a Big Ten title, but he’s actually regressed and now people are questioning whether or not he should remain OSU’s starting quarterback.

Personally, I’m not shocked that the Trojans are where they are right now with a freshman quarterback. They always lose a game every year that they’re not supposed to and the writing was on the wall last week for them in Eugene. Oregon is playing better football right now and is tough to beat at home.

Welcome to the party, Matt Barkley.

The freshman quarterback completed 19 of 29 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday in USC’s thrilling 34-27 victory over Notre Dame. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen was also solid while completing 24 of 43 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

The Trojans made several stupid mistakes in this game, including a couple of costly and near-costly penalties in the second half. But Pete Carroll’s squad racked up 501 yards on the road in a hostile environment, which is incredibly impressive.

Pundits had been waiting for USC’s offense to break out of its shell with Barkley under center and that’s exactly what they did today. At one point in the third quarter, Barkley completed seven straight passes for 195 yards and connected with Damian Williams on a 41-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter to give the Trojans a 20-7 lead. That scoring drive was huge because its defense had just stuffed James Aldridge on a fourth-and-one-attempt inside the Trojans’ 30 and it was key to USC stealing the momentum.

While it’ll be hard for Charlie Weis and the Irish to stomach yet another loss to USC, Notre Dame has nothing to hang its head about. In the past, the Irish would have simply given up in the second half and allowed the Trojans to crush them. But Weis’ group kept fighting back on Saturday and even had several cracks inside the red zone to tie the game with seconds remaining in the fourth. This is a tougher Notre Dame team than we’re used to seeing.

With this win, USC keeps its national title hopes alive. Of course, the Oregon State team that has given the Trojans fits the past couple years is the next team on their schedule and then USC has to travel to Eugene to take on Oregon. So while this was a huge win for the Trojans, they’ve got a long way to go.

Was it that long ago that Cal was a sleeper national title contender and Jahvid Best was the chic pick to win the Heisman Trophy?

For the second straight week, the Bears were stomped at home. Just seven days after Oregon took it to them in a 42-3 route, Cal was once again manhandled on Saturday night, this time by a superior USC team.

In their 30-3 victory, the Trojans held Best to only 47 yards on 14 carries. Of course, it’s kind of hard to get the ball to your best player when you find yourself down 23-0 at halftime. USC controlled this game from start to finish by holding the ball for 36 minutes and 46 seconds, compared to Cal’s 23 minutes and 14 seconds. Without Best churning out big plays in the running game, the Bears’ offense was helpless.

Looking back, Cal’s issues started in the second half of a 35-21 win over Minnesota three weeks ago. After rushing for 114 yards and three scores in the first half, the Gophers held Best to only 17 yards in the second half. Granted, Best still finished with five touchdowns and 131 yards, but is it possible that Minnesota provided a blue print on how to slow the talented running back down?

That said, Best’s issues the past two games can be attributed to Cal’s opponents jumping out to comfortable first half leads and taking the Heisman candidate out of the game. It’s clear that quarterback Kevin Riley can’t win games on his own, although he’s hardly to blame for the Bears’ defense allowing USC to rush for 174 yards.

This was a much-needed win for Pete Carroll’s team, especially since it came on the road in a prime time game. Freshman Matt Barkley threw for 283 yards and continues to mature as a passer, while Joe McKnight finished with 119 yards and two scores, including an incredible 38-yard run in the first quarter.

USC is off next week before hosting Notre Dame on October 3.

No. 4 LSU at No. 18 Georgia, 3:30PM ET
Last year, Georgia rolled into Tiger Stadium and laid a 52-38 beat down on LSU as they forced three turnovers and running back Knowshon Moreno (now a Denver Bronco) racked up 163 yards on 21 carries. After an ugly 24-10 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening week of the season, the Bulldogs have rattled off three straight wins and will now face a Tiger team that struggled a bit offensively last week in a narrow 30-26 win over Mississippi State. LSU was outgained 374-263 and only rushed for 30 yards in the victory. The Tigers usually feast on pro-style offenses, so UGA quarterback Joe Cox can’t force throws in attempt to make something happen down field. That said, the Tigers haven’t been tested yet and needed a goal line stand to pull off the win last week. Georgia, on the other hand, has already faced a ranked OK State team and beaten competitive SEC foes South Carolina and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are more battle tested and will overcome a stiff Tiger defense.
Odds: Georgia –3.
Prediction: Georgia 24, LSU 20.

No. 7 USC at No. 24 California, 8:00PM ET
Don’t everyone break your legs jumping off the Cal bandwagon after Oregon smacked the Golden Bears 42-3 last week. Heisman candidate Jahvid Best rushed for only 55 yards in the loss and will face another tough challenge this week against a USC defense that held him to only 30 yards last season. The Trojans have the sixth best defense in the nation and the fifth best scoring defense. They have limited opponents to only 59.5 rushing yards per game and only 95 YPC threw the air. That said, Cal has played USC close over the years and the Trojans have kept things rather conservative offensively with freshman Matt Barkley under center. I see this game being close, although I don’t know if Kevin Riley can beat USC through the air if the Trojans’ front seven takes away Best.
Odds: USC –4.5.
Prediction: USC 20, Cal 17.

Washington at Notre Dame, 3:30PM ET
A week after upsetting USC at home, Washington crashed back to earth last Saturday in a 34-14 loss at Stanford. The Huskies will have issues controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but quarterback Jake Locker could have some success once he rolls out of the pocket and throws on the move. I don’t foresee Washington pulling off an upset, but considering ND quarterback Jimmy Clausen is dealing with a turf toe injury, running back Armando Allen’s ankle isn’t 100% and receiver Michael Floyd is out for the year, the Huskies should keep things close in South Bend.
Odds: Notre Dame –13.
Prediction: Notre Dame 27, Washington 20.

Wisconsin at Minnesota, 12:00PM ET
The Golden Gophers are in a bit of a transition with new coordinators taking over on both sides of the ball, but they’ve steadily improved each week and I think this is the year they finally take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Wisconsin’s front four has struggled a bit this season and while Minnesota’s running game hasn’t been great, the Gophers did tally 166 yards on the ground last week in a win over Northwestern. This is the first time the Badgers will go on the road this year and they could struggle playing at the new digs of TCF Bank Stadium. I like the combination of quarterback Adam Weber and receiver Eric Decker to pull off a victory this week for the Gophers.
Odds: Minnesota –3.
Prediction: Minnesota 30, Wisconsin 24.

Season Totals:
Straight up: 5-3
Against the Spread: 2-6

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, freshman quarterback Matt Barkley will make his third career start on Saturday for the Trojans when USC hosts Washington State.

Barkley was sidelined last week because of a bone bruise in his right shoulder, an injury suffered against Ohio State on Sept. 12. He warmed up but was unable to get loose Saturday during the fourth quarter of the Trojans’ 16-13 loss at Seattle, a defeat that might have crippled their chances of making a run for the Bowl Championship Series title.

Barkley has practiced this week, but he said Tuesday that he continued to feel pain and was unable to throw with full velocity. Regardless of his condition, he maintained that he planned to start against Washington State.

The timing of Wednesday’s decision, Carroll said, “has nothing to do with last week.”

“I think it’s best for us to get focused in on what we’re doing because Matt’s going to make it,” he said. “So there’s no reason to wait.”

Sorry, but this decision has everything to do with last week. Barkley beat Ohio State in Columbus two weeks ago, while Corp struggled to do anything positive last week in a loss to Washington. With Cal emerging as the new favorites to win the Pac-10, Carroll and USC can’t afford to lose another game, which is exactly why Barkley will start on Saturday.

Hopefully in his haste not to lose another game, Carroll isn’t starting an injured quarterback. Barkley is too valuable to the USC program to lose for a significant amount of time and he shouldn’t risk further injury.

That said, if he’s ready to go, then there’s no question that Barkley should start over Corp based on what the two quarterbacks have shown this season.

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, backup quarterback Aaron Corp looks like he’ll make his first career start against Washington unless freshman Matt Barkley can recover from a bruised right shoulder.

Unless Barkley makes an improbable recovery from a bone bruise, Corp is on track to be under center when the Trojans open Pacific 10 Conference play on Saturday at Washington.

Corp, who had entered training camp No. 1 on the depth chart, had a pass intercepted for the third consecutive practice. But he continued to show that he was no longer limited by the cracked fibula that he suffered on Aug. 10, an injury that opened the door for Barkley to start the first two games.

Barkley was supposed to take part in a throwing session on Thursday but didn’t. I can’t imagine that Carroll would start a freshman quarterback on the road in USC’s Pac-10 opener – especially considering Corp is the backup.

If it weren’t for the cracked fibula that he suffered in summer practice, Corp would have likely been the starter for the Trojans at the start of the season. But now that Barkley has a win at Columbus on his resume, it’s going to be hard for Corp to unseat Barkley when the freshman is healthy.

That said, Corp is certainly good enough to stir up a quarterback controversy if he plays well this Saturday. Corp is smart, instinctive and a very accurate passer. Even though he’s had trouble with interceptions this week in practice, he usually doesn’t make many mistakes either. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays this weekend.