USC quarterback Matt Barkley set a school record in the season opener with 34 passes in one game. The previous record was set by Todd Marinovich in 1989.
When the L.A. Times ran a story Wednesday night under the header, “USC Coach Lane Kiffin is seriously worried about Minnesota,” it didn’t seem like those “serious” concerns were much more than overhyping the opponent.
The Times’ USC reporter Gary Klein even wrote: “Asked Wednesday whether overconfidence might be an issue for his No. 25 Trojans, Coach Lane Kiffin went all Lou Holtz in his response.”
As it turned out, the Trojans had plenty to be worried about, nearly handing the Golden Gophers the game before managing to eke out a too-close-for-comfort win, 19-17.
USC started strong, scoring a touchdown on their first possession on a Matt Barkley pass to Robert Woods. The two continued to light up the first half, connecting for all three of the Trojans’ touchdowns. Woods finished with 17 catches for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns, setting a new school record for single-game receptions (the previous mark was 15, set by Johnnie Morton in 1993), while Barkley’s 34 passes set another school record, breaking Todd Marinovich’s 33, set in 1989 (before Barkley was born).
Their offensive prowess wasn’t enough to give the Trojans’ a comfortable lead, though. On the first two scores, Kiffin elected to go for two – and in a repeat of last year’s game in Minneapolis, failed both times. The misses almost came back to haunt them when the offense stalled in the second half, just as Minnesota found its stride.
The Golden Gophers were playing their first game under new head coach Jerry Kill, with a new quarterback in Marqueis Gray, and they were shaky from the start, drawing a false start penalty on the first play of the game. Gray was sacked three times, and the big, speedy runner was dropped for lost yardage countless times. He’d spent more time as a receiver than a quarterback to this point in his college career, and he seemed more comfortable keeping the ball but struggled to break into the open field. The other Minnesota backs didn’t have much success early either, as the Trojans’ defensive front held pretty solid.
The momentum changed after halftime, when the Gophers came out much more confident and aggressive. Meanwhile, the Trojans lacked focus in the second half. In the third quarter, Barkley targeted tight end Xavier Grimble with a perfect pass downfield, which the redshirt freshman juggled before dropping out of bounds to stall the drive. On fourth down, center Khaled Holmes snapped the ball over Barkley’s head, giving Minnesota excellent field position and, eventually, a touchdown.
As USC was struggling, Minnesota was buoyed – surprisingly – by true freshman backup quarterback Max Shortell, who came in to relieve Gray, who was suffering from leg cramps. Shortell was impressively poised, leading the Gophers downfield for a touchdown to bring Minnesota within two (thanks in part to a missed tackle by USC’s Torin Harris).
USC had one final shot to widen their lead, but a long penalty-ridden drive ate up six minutes of clock and ended in another Trojans punt. While USC fans (and players, according to Barkley and Woods) were having flashbacks to last season’s late-game meltdowns, Harris made up for his missed tackle with an interception with under a minute left, effectively ending the game.
While any game that goes in the win column is better than the alternative, this game was more of a challenge than it needed to be. Jerry Kill did a fantastic job getting Minnesota back in the game in the second half, but the Trojans still need to figure out how to close games, among other things, before Utah comes to town for their first Pac-12 game this weekend.
