San Jose State Spartans (0-0) vs. USC Trojans (0-0)
Saturday, September 5, 12:30 PM PST
Las Vegas Favorite: USC -34.0

Sam’s Take (0 – 0):

The Matt Barkley era will begin against San Jose State, and while the outcome is not hard to predict in this game, it is undoubtedly worth watching. Dick Tomey, who popularized Arizona’s “Desert Swarm” defense, has put together a pretty solid D at SJSU as well. At the very least, Tomey will throw looks at Barkley that he never saw at Mater Dei, which should give Trojan fans some idea of how well the true freshman can handle Division I football.

My only hope is that he has a chance to throw the ball because everyone already knows about the running game and offensive line. With WR Ronald Johnson sidelined for a while, I will be curious to see how the passing attack looks before the road game at the ‘Shoe in Columbus. We will also get a chance to see the new look Trojan D, which will need a solid tune-up for the Buckeyes.

The Trojans can pretty much pick their score, but Barkley’s performance is the game within the game.

Prediction: USC 52 – San Jose State 6

San Jose State Player to Keep an Eye On: DE Carl Ihenacho - He is the best pass rusher on the team and represents the Spartans’ only real chance to fluster Barkley.

USC Player to Keep an Eye On: WR Brice Butler - Sure Barkley fits here too, but now that RoJo is down for the next six to eight weeks Butler figures to see a ton of playing time at wideout. Damian Williams and David Ausberry may start, but Butler will be a critical player for the Trojans early this season.

Dave’s Take (0 – 0):

This game was scheduled to be a tune-up game for the big showdown against Ohio State next week, and with the emergence of true freshman Matt Barkley as the starter, that tune-up just became even more critical.

Pete Carroll and his staff face an odd predicament here; what is the best way to approach this game to best prepare for Ohio State? Do you just go out guns-a-blazing and get everyone fired up with a big blowout win? Do you just go out and play extremely conservatively and make sure your depth guys get plenty of game time?

On top of figuring out how to handle the whole team, I’d argue that figuring out how to get Matt Barkley ready is the most difficult part. There are pros and cons to both schools of thought; if you let him go out there slinging, you could build his confidence up for next week. The flip side of that, though, is that Barkley has a reputation of throwing interceptions, and throws that he gets away with this Saturday may turn into big mistakes next Saturday.

If Carroll decides to go the conservative route, it will keep Barkley from getting into bad habits early; but if USC finds themselves down 14 at the half in a hostile environment, will Barkley have the confidence to go out there and drive USC to a comeback?

In the end, only USC knows what their game plan is heading into this Saturday. I’m sure Pete Carroll will find some happy medium between the two styles. I can’t help but think that this game will be a little more conservative, though; with this offensive line and running back core, Barkley needs to learn game management before he worries about gun-slinging, and there isn’t any reason to show Ohio State anything out of the playbook. I’ll be looking for a safe and conservative offense, but only time will tell.

Prediction: USC 38 – San Jose State 3

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