Barkley An Instant Hit

Sports Betting News - September 13th, 2009 - Written by John

It was one of those coming-of-age moments.

Freshman Matt Barkley immediately grabbed the attention of his coaches, teammates and fans. Anyone with vested interest in college football, really. Despite being stymied for three-and-a-half quarters Saturday night, Barkley played like a veteran under the spotlight of primetime, leading his team on a game-winning, 14-play, 86-yard drive that started with 6:09 left on the clock. It ended with Stafon Johnson basically walking into the end zone untouched and USC handing Ohio State it's newest in a long line of heartbreaks since winning the National Championship in 2002, winning 18-15.

"We're Trojans. That's what we do," Barkley told reporters after the game. "This is what we dreamed of, coming back like this.

"Doesn't matter where we are in the score. We found a way. I love this."

It was the only time USC led since Chris Galippo returned an interception to the 1-yard line on the Buckeyes' first drive of the game, setting up Johnson's first score of the game.

""It's very frustrating, but we knew eventually they'd make plays," linebacker Brian Rolle told ESPN. "The last drive was heartbreaking. Give McKnight lots of credit on that last drive, he was good."

A crowd of over 106,000 went home disappointed after Ohio State led for almost the entire second half. The Trojans took over possession with just over six minutes remaining and were already pinned back at second-and-19. Then junior Joe McKnight scampered for 11 yards and then hauled in a dump pass for 21 more. USC eventually took the ball down to Ohio State's 37 and faced a fourth-and-inches with the game on the line. This was make-or-break for USC.

"He was scared, really," McKnight joked about Barkley. "No, he came in with the same composure he had the whole game. He was calm. He made plays."

It was Barkley who pushed passed the line for a new first down and the Trojans were never contested again. McKnight took the team down to the 10 and, after another sneak by Barkley, Johnson took a sweep and waltzed into to make it 16-15. A converted extra point gave USC the extra 2-point cushion.

For Ohio State's multi-talented quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, it's another disappointment in his career after losing to Penn State last season on primetime at home.

"We should have beat them," Pryor said. "Point blank, we should have beat them."

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