USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Trojans' 38-17 win over Syracuse
After opening the 2011 season with two too-close games, the USC Trojans finally managed to build on, rather than jeopardize, a first quarter lead, en route to a 38-17 win over Syracuse.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley had another big day, tying a school and personal record with five touchdown passes in the game, and the defense came up big to keep the Orange from mounting another late game comeback.
The Trojans’ run game was ineffective, especially early, as starter Marc Tyler was continually stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. With 15 carries, Tyler handled the bulk of the workload but gained just 41 yards and quite a few bruises from running into Syracuse’s Deon Goggins. Curtis McNeal, USC’s leading rusher in the game, played sparingly until late, when Syracuse gave up a 43-yard run once the game was all but over.
Syracuse wasn’t any better on the ground, rushing for just 73 yards as a team. Coming into the game, the Orange had won two close games – including their season opener in overtime – on the strength of quarterback Ryan Nassib and receivers Alec Lemon and Van Chew, but the Trojans defense kept them in check.
After Syracuse moved down the field steadily on its first possession, the Trojans’ D came up with three stops in the red zone, forcing the Orange to kick a field goal.
Nassib was 11 of 11 for 74 yards through the first quarter but couldn’t maintain the momentum. He was sacked by Dion Bailey to start the second quarter and then immediately threw incomplete to Lemon.
Nassib finished 25 of 37 for 230 yards and one touchdown, and Lemon contributed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Chew on a trick play in the third quarter, but the passing game wasn’t consistent enough, and the run game wasn’t effective enough, to keep up with USC.
USC had to rely on Barkley’s arm and a whole cadre of receivers – each touchdown went to a different receiver – to get points on the board.
On the Trojans’ first possession of the game, they went 66 yards in 10 plays to score a touchdown on a Barkley pass to tight end-turned-fullback Rhett Ellison. Ellison, who had an “off” game against Utah, contributed early with five receptions for 31 yards and the touchdown.
USC star receiver Robert Woods had a fairly quiet day with eight catches for 82 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown and a very scary moment when he lost his helmet after a hard hit and was propelled forward, almost into a Syracuse defender.
The Orange, led by standout free safety Phillip Thomas, covered Woods pretty closely all game, opening up opportunities for other receivers to make an impact. True freshman Marqise Lee, a fall camp standout who played with Woods in high school, scored his first career touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Barkley to put the Trojans up, 31-10, in the third.
USC’s pair of redshirt freshman tight ends, Randall Telfer and Xavier Grimble, each scored touchdowns; Telfer’s 44-yard catch on a wide open pass over the middle was his first as a Trojan. Grimble’s was initially ruled a fumble, but he was awarded his second touchdown of the year after the review showed he was down just after stretching across the goal line. He’s lucky it wasn’t actually a fumble – he’s already had one lost fumble and a few costly drops this season.
Grimble still needs to improve his ball handling and his focus (he was also called for a false start), but the Trojans showed they’re more than just the Barkley & Woods show on offense.
The win over Syracuse was an improvement, especially for the defense that didn’t let the Orange back in the game late, but USC will need more from the young O-line to get the offense going on the ground and in the air if they want to compete against the top teams in the Pac-12.
