Exploding for a 28-point second quarter, the most in a Trojan quarter since the 28-point avalanche against Fresno State in 2005, the good folks back in Ohio must have felt the southern California heat had combined the Midwest humidity to create some real gridiron anxiety after watching the Trojans’ offensive machine show national championship potential. Maybe, too good to be true?
A trip next Saturday to Ohio Stadium for a nationally televised ESPN night game (8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT) will shed some light into where this Trojan team is, but on Saturday afternoon quarterback Matt Barkley looked a vast majority of the time like a seasoned veteran, a future star, and presented the nation with perhaps its next big icon this side of Florida’s Tim Tebow.
"This turned out to be just right for us,” said an obviously happy Pete Carroll. “After putting in so much work for the past few months, it was nice to get out here at home, in front of a crowd, and show what we could do. We had a slow start, which was imaginable, but once we settled down, we played good football. I don’t want to overlook any part of the game, but I thought we played well.”
It was expected that the Trojans would maul the Spartans. After all, they opened 37-point favorites. It’s just that after a shaky first quarter, the Trojans looked like, well, a November Pete Carroll team. We’ll find out next week in Ohio where this Trojan team is at in early September, but for an opening game, it’s hard to fathom the Trojans could have looked much better.
“We started off with bumpy first drives, but we put it behind us,” said Trojan true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who finished the game with an impressive 15-of-19 for 233 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.
“However, then we got it rolling. Our offensive line opened holes for Joe (McKnight) and Allen (Bradford) and they have the experience. I was so confident in our guys. I was only a little nervous during the Trojan Walk, but after we said the prayer on the field before warm-ups, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was loving it. You could feel the energy. It was so much fun to be with some of the best athletes in the nation.”
Certainly Pete Carroll was under as much scrutiny as his freshman quarterback. The naming of Barkley over Aaron Corp, who was the Trojans’ starting quarterback in spring through training camp until his leg injury, has been controversial to say the least. However, Barkley’s performance certainly made the Trojans’ head man look good and there is no doubt that another solid performance next Saturday in The Horseshoe will enhance his aura.
“Matt Barkley absolutely handled the situation,” Carroll beamed. “He loved every minute of it and he has showed us nothing but this same demeanor since he is been here. He is a remarkable young man and he was a blast to coach today. What Jeremy (Bates) and Matt put together today was great. We are thrilled about that.”
One of the big questions leading into Saturday’s game was would the Trojans rely more heavily on a running game, especially with potentially explosive junior tailback Joe McKnight?
McKnight, named the Player of the Game, may have silenced some of his naysayers by finishing the game with 145 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Things, however, didn’t start out well for the junior from Louisiana, as he suffered again with a bout of fumble-itis in the first quarter. However, how could a Trojan fan get down on a tailback that averaged 10.4 yards per carry when all was said and done? On this hot afternoon, his totals certainly indicated that Tailback U. is still alive and well.
So will McKnight get the start against Ohio State?
“It’s a game-by-game deal,” said running backs coach Todd McNair. “Whatever works that day we will do. Joe was confident today and he didn’t worry about his early fumble. He didn’t come back to the bench and throw his helmet. Joe was just being Joe.”
With the running game accounting for a whopping 342 yards, much of the credit also had to go to the Trojans’ offensive line, a line that featured several combinations throughout the afternoon. You know the Spartans had a long afternoon stopping the run and controlling the Trojans’ offensive line when their leading tackler was safety sophomore Tanner Burns, son of former Trojan assistant Keith Burns, with 9 stops.
After that shaky first quarter start, the Trojans’ final three quarters sent an early statement to future opponents that you’d better get these cardinal and gold fellas now because they figure to be a handful in games to come. One thing the Trojans, as San Jose State found out, is regularly win opening games in impressive fashion.
It was the 12th straight opener in which the Men of Troy have averaged 21 points on offense.
All you have to know about this particular opener is that after three quarters, the Trojans held a 487-130 differential in total offense. This was certainly one of the more impressive offensive opening games of the Pete Carroll era, regardless of opponent. The only question after three quarters was when was backup quarterback Aaron Corp going to get his opportunity? Corp finally appeared to start the fourth quarter.
The Trojans’ defense bent a couple of times early on, but things tightened up rapidly against San Jose State’s spread-option offense, a Pete Carroll calling card. While the Trojans’ offense rolled up an impressive 620 yards, the Trojans’ defense emulated their training camp performances, holding the Spartans to just 121 yards of offense.
“I thought the first quarter was a good test for us,” said Trojan sophomore middle linebacker Chris Galippo, who finished with a team-high 9 tackles. “ They scored first and we had prepared for them to do their quarterback options, but they didn’t do a lot of that.
“I thought the turning point in the game was that first quarter. You felt some pressure, but it was a good experience for us. We’ll be ready for Ohio State next week and will go in pretty confident.”
The Spartans struck first with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter, as Spartans’ sophomore field goal kicker Tyler Cope converted a 41-tyard field goal for San Jose State’s only lead, a 3-0 margin.
Ironically, the first quarter of Trojan ineptness wasn’t a case of true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley looking inexperienced, anything but. It was a case of Trojan veteran offensive performers like junior tailback Joe McKnight and senior tight end Anthony McCoy fumbling the ball away to the Spartans and keeping the guests from NorCal at a high emotional level.
If anything, heavy underdog San Jose State proved in the opening quarter that they came to play and compete, and the Trojans proved they were their own worst enemy. Needless to say, the folks in Columbus watching the national telecast were given some false encouragement after watching their own Buckeyes struggle against Navy.
“For a while, it looked like we could compete,” said Dick Tomey, San Jose State head coach. “Obviously, it was an illusion. In the final analysis, they were much better and much better coached than we were.
“Coach Carroll has another good football team. I’ve seen them do that to too many good team. I’ve watched a lot of tape when the game was close and then suddenly it was a blowout.”
Although the Trojans out-gained the Spartans 77-67 in total offensive yard at the conclusion of first quarter, the Spartans still held a confident 3-0 lead on the scoreboard.
“Give them a lot of credit,” said Spartan wide receiver Kevin Jurovich. “They beat us pretty well.”
Despite all the confidence that San Jose State was building in the first quarter, it was nothing more than an illusion. When the second quarter unraveled, suddenly the Trojans looked remarkably like the team on New Year’s Day that ripped Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions.
“It’s disappointing,” said freshman linebacker Travis Jones, who celebrated his birthday in the Coliseum against the No. 4 team in the country. “We came with thoughts to win and compete all day. We came out strong, but 20 minutes of good football is not enough. But we played a heck of a team.”
That second quarter saw the Trojans’ offense awaken, thanks to an exciting 40-yard punt return by Damian Williams.
“I think my punt return showed we were capable of making big plays against them,” said Williams, who lead all Trojan receivers with three catches for 67 yards. “I got some big blocks. It’s all about playing our game; all about us. We have to stay as a band of brothers.”
From there, quarterback Matt Barkley went to work completing passes of 13 and 10 yards to fullback Stanley Havili and wide receiver David Ausberry, respectively. From the Spartans’ 4-yard line, tailback Stafon Johnson found a huge whole in the San Jose State defensive interior and went virtually untouched into the end zone. With Jordan Congdon’s extra point, the Trojans went up 7-3 with 10:47 remaining in the first half.
With first-year offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates mixing up plays brilliantly for Matt Barkley, the Trojans scored again with 5:11 left in the half on a a two-yard run by Stafon Johnson around the right side. The drive took just 5 plays and traversed 58 yards, highlighted by 33-yard catch-and-run by Damian Williams. With Condgons’ PAT, the Trojans were now up 14-3 and the rout was on.
Almost immediately, the Trojans struck again in lightening fashion as junior tailback Allen Bradford, long a big star in training camp carries, duplicated what he had done in camp, by exploding 43-yards to the Promised Land. The Trojans went 44 yards in two plays and with Congdon’s PAT, it was 21-3 with 2:28 left till intermission.
“I thought that Allen Bradford (53 yards on 4 carries and one explosive 43-yard touchdown run) was great today,” said running back Todd McNair. “He has the speed to be a home run hitter. He runs hard.”
Yes, the sign of a good team, even against an inferior opponent like San Jose State, is to show a killer instinct. The Trojans, at least on this hot afternoon in the City of Angels, showed that character trait moments later.
With just 23 seconds left in the half, the Trojans marched 65 yards in 6 plays, as tailback Joe McKnight maneuvered the right side for a 6-yard score score. Congdon’s extra point finished the 28-point Trojan second quarter, and the Men of Troy headed into their air-conditioned Coliseum locker room with a commanding 28-0 halftime lead.
The first half stats were evidence of the second quarter Trojan demolition of the Spartans. The Men of Troy more than doubled the San Jose State offensive yards 384-117. Perhaps just as impressive was the first half stats of quarterback Matt Barkley, who was 8-of-11 for 137 yards and, more importantly, no interceptions.
Perhaps the biggest non-surprise, based on an offensive line that has been called the best in the country, was the first half rushing totals, as the Cardinal and Gold dominated 147-30 in yardage. Junior tailback Joe McKnight had 62 yards (6.2 avg.) while fellow running back Allen Bradford had 53 total yards and averaged 17.7 per carry. The rotation of McKnight, Bradford, and Johnson looks like a winner.
“I thought our line did pretty good today,” said junior offensive lineman Butch Lewis, who started at left guard for most of the game and then moved to left tackle in the final quarter.
“They did a couple of slants on defense, but we picked it up throughout the rest of the game. Joe (McKnight) was exciting, especially that flip into the end zone. We tried to get our backs into space. It helps our line to have everybody back. It’s easier to run the ball this year than last year because of all that experience.”
Perhaps the Trojans were aware of Ohio State’s struggles earlier in the morning and wanted to send a message in the second half.
The second half began the same way the second quarter ended – an explosive continuation. With less than two minutes into the third quarter, Joe McKnight brought the Coliseum crowd to its feet with a weaving, balancing act through the Spartans’ secondary that covered 54 yards and ended with a somersault into the end zone. Congdon’s PAT made it 35-3, and the only question left was when would second unit quarterback Aaron Corp make his appearance? Oh, the drive? Just 73 yards in, oh hum, three plays.
“The offensive line made great blocks,” said McKnight, who grinningly said that his somersault into the end zone wasn’t planned. “I was stumbling and falling and I didn’t want to go down. I was just trippin’, so I just made a flip out of it.”
With 8:21 in the third quarter, Matt Barkley threw his first and certainly not his last touchdown pass as a Trojan, a 4-yard toss to tight end Rhett Ellison, who also recorded his first TD reception as a Trojan. This drive was an 86-yarder in six plays that took 2:56 off the game clock. The keys to this scoring success were a 44-yard pass from Barkley to tight end Anthony McCoy and then a 21-yard reception by Joe McKnight. Congdon’s 6th extra point made it 42-3, and the boys in Las Vegas knew there was going to be some happy customers.
The third quarter ended with the Trojans commanding a 42-3 lead. Some of the Coliseum folks had either seen enough or were simply exhausted by the heat or both started making their way out of the fabled venue.
Fans that were still able to handle the final quarter heat were treated to making their own evaluation of Trojan backup quarterback Aaron Corp (4-of-4 for 45 yards), who drew a nice round of applause when he entered the game along with redshirt freshman tailback Marc Tyler. How many programs in America would love to have a backfield of Corp and Tyler?
Tyler wasted little time bringing the fans to their feet with a 63-yard weaving run that lead to an eventual 1-yard touchdown burst by Tyler with 10:56 left. Congdon again converted the PAT and the score was now 49-3. The drive was 70 yards in 5 plays.
The Trojans finally finished the scoring carnage when Corp threw a 13-yard scoring throw to sophomore fullback D.J. Shoemate, who slipped out of the backfield, and the telethon-like scoreboard with Congdon’s PAT, was 56-3. The final Trojan drive was 53 yards in 9 plays.
So when it was all said and done, did the Trojans send a message to the Ohio State Buckeyes?
“No, I don’t think we sent a message to Ohio State,” offensive lineman Butch Lewis said. “We sent a message to San Jose State.”
Yes, Butch, there will be no argument from coach Dick Tomey and his San Jose State Spartans after a long and painful Saturday afternoon in the storied Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Trojan Pigskin Review – The Trojans are now 4-0 with San Jose State…Temperature at game time was 89 degrees…San Jose State brought their band to the Coliseum…Before the kickoff, San Jose State elected to have the Trojans take the field from the tunnel first…Prior to kickoff, there was the new NCAA pre-game handshake. Selected players from both teams met at the center of the field…The Trojans, which seems like a tradition, won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half…Before the game, there was a ceremony honoring the memory of Ryan Davidson, longtime Trojan fan who passed away in the off-season from cancer…Trojan kicker Jacob Harfman’s first kick-off was a touchback, and the Mount San Antonio transfer finished the afternoon with 3 touchbacks…Billy O’Malley, the Trojans new punter, averaged 34.7 per boot…Trojan soon-to-be College Football Hall of Fame coach John Robinson was recognized and was given a standing ovation…The Trojans, who were last in the Pac-10 last season in penalty yardage, were flagged 9 times for 72 yards. San Jose State recorded 7 flags for 72 yards…Marc Tyler’s fourth quarter touchdown was his second of his career…The Trojans have now won 11 games in a row, 10 home games in a row, and 13 straight non-conference home games…Stafon Johnson’s two rushing touchdowns gives him 16 career rushing touchdowns…Both teams lost two fumbles…Trojan defensive end Nick Perry had two sacks…All-America safety Taylor Mays recorded 5 tackles, second behind Chris Galippo…Starting his first game, reshirt freshman defensive end Wes Horton finished with two tackles.
