USC football: A fan’s look back at Saturday’s Washington State game

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It’s all Pete Carroll’s fault.

He is the one to blame for setting standards so high with the USC football team that even in victory, the Trojans can appear to be losers. At least, that’s the impression you’d get from reading the reviews of USC’s 27-6 victory over Washington State Saturday night at the Coliseum.

A less-than-stellar victory? Of course. The offense, after scoring 20 points in the first quarter, managed only one more touchdown against the last-in-every-defensive-category-in-the-Pac-10 Cougars.

But USC did win.

And any fan or critic unhappy with the Trojans’ play should recall how they felt a week ago when USC lost at Washington.

The Trojans, especially on offense, are a work in progress. But progress definitely happened Saturday.

And it all starts with Matt Barkley.

Anyone who doesn’t think Barkley is a future star is ignorant or simply a hater. The kid has a presence about him, something USC was without in Seattle.

Returning from the shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Washington loss, Barkley had the best game of his three-game college career. He threw a perfect pass to another freshman, Brice Butler, for a 29-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

He threw an even more impressive pass to Damian Williams for a 57-yard score just seconds later. That pass came an instant before he was nailed by two defenders.

Teammates keep talking about Barkley’s poise and with good reason. Carroll and play-caller Jeremy Bates finally let the quarterback throw a pass more than 20 yards. The playbook will open up more as Barkley continues to mature.

So why did the Trojans stop scoring after the first 15 minutes? Too many penalties. They had four holding calls on offense in the first quarter.

And USC twice failed to score from the Washington State two-yard line. Rhett Ellison dropped a pass in the end zone on fourth down in the third quarter. C.J. Gable got stopped on third- and fourth-down runs late in the game. The Trojans score touchdowns on those two drives, they win 41-0 and there’s a lot less chirping.

I’d be more concerned about the offense if I didn’t think the mistakes were correctable. With the exception of the Ohio State game, USC has been able to move the ball, especially on the ground. (The Buckeyes, by the way, have posted two shutouts since losing to the Trojans.)

USC is going to score a lot more points. If not, then I’m the one who’s ignorant.

And again, it’s not like USC is going to need 35 points to win most games. The Trojans’ defense isn’t getting proper credit, in part because of the struggles of the offense.

Washington State’s touchdown came with 22 seconds left against second- and third-stringers. In four games, USC has given up 40 points and three touchdowns.

The Trojans had eight sacks Saturday, including two more by Nick Perry, the redshirt freshman from Detroit who has six on the season. The more I see of the underclassmen on defense, Devon Kennard, Jurrell Casey, Chris Galippo, et al, the more I think USC is in great shape for years to come.

Next up is a trip to Cal to face a Golden Bears team coming off a shocking 42-3 loss at Oregon. A week ago, USC-Cal looked like it was a matchup of top-five teams. Regardless of the last two weeks, expect a close game.

The Trojans have won the last five games against Cal, but with the exception of 2005, every game has been in doubt in the fourth quarter. USC beat Cal, 17-3, last season. I’ll take that result again right now.

Of course, should USC score only 17 points next week, the Trojans will face more criticism. Blame Carroll.

--Hans Tesselaar