Matt Barkley sets school and Pac-12 records against Colorado
It took six seconds for Southern California to get started. By the end of six minutes, you knew – as you might have expected – that the Trojans were going to dominate woeful Colorado.
With 9:03 left in the first quarter, USC had a 19-0 lead. In six minutes, USC scored three touchdowns (all passing) while Colorado gained two first downs.
With more than 54 minutes left to be played, Matt Barkley was 7-for-7 for 157 yards and three touchdowns. In order: Marqise Lee (55 yards, six seconds in), Robert Woods (39 yards) and Xavier Grimble (8 yards).
It took eight plays to score three touchdowns. Yes, USC is this good. Colorado is also this bad.
How bad?
As bad a Bowl Championship Series conference team as I've ever seen. Colorado is an expansion team. Colorado is the 1962 Mets. (Just not as lovable – not even close.) Colorado head coach Jon Embree knew this was coming. Asked about playing Oregon and USC in back-to back weeks, Embree said, It's like Secretariat against Gus the kicking mule."
By the time Barkley left the game midway through the third quarter, he had completed 19 of 20 attempts for 298 yards and six touchdowns.
The six touchdown passes tied his own single-game school record. Barkley has thrown for six touchdowns in four of his last 11 games.
His fourth scoring pass of the night, a 29-yard connection with Robert Woods, was the 100th of Barkley's career. That set a new school and Pac-12 career record, breaking the mark held by former USC quarterback Matt Leinart.
According to the USC athletic department, Barkley also set new conference single-game records for completion percentage (.950) and quarterback efficiency rating (319.2). He had a pretty nice two-and-a-half quarter evening, I'd say.
And Barkley wasn't the only Trojan skill player who set school records at Colorado's expense. Woods had four touchdown grabs, breaking his previous USC record. Woods had eight receptions in all, moving him past Dwayne Jarrett on the school's career list.
In the business, folks call this "a day for the averages." Again, Colorado is the BCS conference version of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.