USC Trojans 2-1 Overall (0-1 Conference)

This Week’s Score: Washington 16 – USC 13

Next Week’s Opponent: Washington State

This is becoming an all too familiar script for Trojans fans. With Saturday’s painful loss to Washington, USC has now lost to an unranked Pac-10 team in four consecutive seasons. Certainly there will be a lot of finger pointing after this one. Some folks will blame the play calling of offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates. Some will blame the mounting injuries that have kept key starters out of action. Some may even blame Pete Carroll (Pete Carroll seems to blame Pete Carroll). In the end it doesn’t matter why the Trojans lost in Seattle, because frankly, this is USC and the expectation is to utilize superior talent and depth to defeat all comers.

While plenty of things need to be corrected in a hurry, I don’t believe the defense is one of them. In fact, the Trojan D has far exceeded my expectations to this point in the 2009 season. Sure Taylor Mays makes a difference in the secondary, but the Trojans still played pretty well against Washington. Holding a potent Huskies offense to 16 points and less than 300 total yards really isn’t bad at all, especially if you consider the fact that U-Dub put up about 500 yards of offense against a good LSU D.

The final drive of Saturday’s game was simply Jake Locker and the UW receivers making some fantastic plays. I think it’s important to remember the sheer amount of playmakers that were lost from last season’s record-breaking Trojan defense. Not to mention the departure of Nick Holt (who proved just how good he is Saturday). I believe the emergence of new defensive playmakers like Chris Galippo and Michael Morgan should not be overlooked despite the disappointment being felt by ‘SC fans after a frustrating loss.

Obviously the thing on everyone’s mind right now is the quarterback position. Frankly, there is no way to positively describe Aaron Corp’s performance (13/22 110 yards, 1 INT). I just can’t figure out why Mitch Mustain did not get a look in the game. Mustain may be struggling with the system, but would he have performed any worse? I do believe one positive came out of Saturday’s rough outing from Corp. At least now we know that this is Matt Barkley’s team, and the quarterback controversy that defined most of the pre-season is no more.

My last thought involves the electrifying and terrifying Joe McKnight. No one can deny that he is a true game-changer, but lately, he has changed the game in the wrong way. McKnight’s ball security issues are becoming too costly, and it may be just a matter of time before he sees his touches reduced as a result. Personally, I hope he finds a way to hold onto the ball because he is such an exciting player to watch and I would hate to see the fumbling stigma continue to haunt him.

‘SC has a lot of work to do from here, but a home game against Washington State maybe just what the doctor ordered.

Although his decision to go pro initially irritated head coach Pete Carroll, it now seems all parties may come out just fine heading into the fall. After a stellar spring, Aaron Corp, a 6-4 redshirt sophomore from Orange Lutheran, has established himself as the starter.

Corp went an astounding 13 spring practices without throwing an interception capped off by a solid spring game. Before the spring, most pundits agreed that it was Corp’s mobility that made him such a tremendous talent. Some close to the program believe that Corp will be able to use his mobility out of the bootleg and play action even better than Sanchez did in last year’s offense.

The only question mark with Corp was how consistent he could be throwing the football. So far, Corp has silenced any critics he might have. His performance was especially impressive considering the stiff competition he faced throughout all of USC’s practices and scrimmages to date. In fact, the competition was so stiff that the battle for starting signal-caller could re-open in the fall thanks in large part to a rising star named Matt Barkley.

Aaron Corp puts together a nice spring

Eighteen-year-old Matt Barkley planned to become a serious contender for the starting job at USC from day one. He graduated from high school in 3 ½ years so that he could make it to USC in time for spring ball. His belief in himself to win the job this early should come as no surprise.

Barkley attended the prestigious football powerhouse Mater Dei High School, becoming the second freshman in the history of the program to start at quarterback. He didn’t waste any time in making an impression on the coaches at USC. Barkley made several big plays throughout the spring, but his untimely interceptions kept him from ascending to number one.

Still, it was considered a major upset that he dethroned the more experienced Mitch Mustain for the second spot on the depth chart. If Barkley progresses in the fall as much as he did during spring, not only will there be no redshirt, he may threaten for the starting job.

As for Mustain, the spring was not as productive. The former Arkansas Razorback was extremely inconsistent. His perfect 8-0 record from his time in the mighty SEC is now just a distant memory.

The frustrating thing about Mustain is all the potential that is so evident. In watching him, one can see why he is a former Gatorade High School Player Of The Year. However, he has not picked up the offense nearly as well as the aforementioned Corp and Barkley. Playing time is not out of the question, but he must pick up the pace because he is a clear third right now.

Finally, dual-threat quarterback Garrett Green figures to provide depth in case injuries mount this season.

My Take

I believe Aaron Corp will be a very solid quarterback for USC this season. He does not ever seem to make the wrong decision and pressure doesn’t bother him at all. With the talent that SC has around him, (especially an experienced and supremely talented offensive line) his great mobility and cool demeanor will be a perfect fit for the offense.

But lets get real here – Matt Barkley is going to be special. It won’t happen this year, but he is the future face of USC. I just don’t think Corp, only a sophomore, will be able to last two or three years as a starter with that kind of talent behind him. I honestly believe that Barkley, on paper, is the best prospect at quarterback that SC has had since Carroll took the job.

I am very disappointed in Mustain. I followed Arkansas closely during the Darren McFadden and Felix Jones years and I knew SC was getting a great receiver in Damian Williams (a stud). I also thought Mustain would be an impact player but he hasn’t gotten there. Hopefully he turns it around.