USC Football: 3 Reasons Matt Barkley Will Disappoint Trojan Fans

The college football season will kick off for the USC Trojans Sept. 1, against the Hawaii Warriors, and for the first time since 2007, the Trojans will have a senior quarterback to look to on opening day.

By returning to USC, Matt Barkley has given Trojans fans visions of championship celebrations and awards galore to dream about until September finally shows its face.

Just don't make the mistake of assuming it will all come easily.

Barkley's senior year could go down as his best as a Trojan. It could also, however, be an uphill battle, as Barkley will face challenges that his teams of the past three seasons have yet to experience.

If Barkley wants to deliver those trophies to USC next season, there are a few key factors that he must prepare for to prevent stumbling in 2012.

Barkley's Response to a Lack of Depth

How Matt Barkley responds to an unprecedented lack of depth will surely be crucial to the Trojans' success this upcoming season.

USC has been highly touted in years past for its depth, especially at the skills positions. 2012, however, following the recent transfers of Kyle Prater, Amir Carlisle and Brice Butler—not to mention the departure of Dillon Baxter and senior Marc Taylor— will put the Trojans in an unfamiliar place.

Despite the new feel, Barkley shouldn't be overly concerned as long as he's smart with it. After all, he still has one of the best receiving tandems in all of college football to throw to in Marquis Lee and Robert Woods.

The focus of opposing defenses will now be more blatant than ever, as taking Lee or Woods out of a game will essentially cut Barkley's major weapons in half. With the two main targets covered, Barkley will find times where he has to rely on unproven commodities to catch the ball, as well as a shallow running game for balance, in order to avoid forcing it to his go-to playmakers. 

Aside from the skills positions, Barkley is missing the dominant force up front who helped keep him safe and warm in the pocket last season.

There's no replacing Matt Kalil—at least not right away. But the Trojans are attempting to fill the void in a big way by signing 4-star recruit Zach Banner.

If Barkley is unprotected in the pocket and resorts to a one-dimensional game with his best options, Barkley could find himself vulnerable, and his decision making will become more important than ever. 

Arik Armstead and the Oregon Ducks

Although the Trojans are set to play the defending Rose Bowl champion Oregon Ducks once this upcoming season, it’s possible that the two teams will meet a second time for the Pac-12 title.

Despite winning last year’s matchup, the Trojans have lost two of their last three meetings against the Ducks, and Oregon could certainly be cause for concern next season.

If Matt Barkley and the Trojans do have trouble with the Ducks, it may have something to do with Oregon’s biggest recruit of this offseason—Arik Armstead.

Having lost standout offensive tackle, Matt Kalil, USC was hoping that Armstead would make his appearance in cardinal and gold as extra protection for Barkley next season.

Armstead, the former USC commit, has provided the Ducks with a double-whammy toward the Trojans and their quarterback, stating that he does not want to play on the offensive line at Oregon, he wants to play defense.

Not only will Armstead not be protecting Barkley next season, he’ll be out to get him.

Whether you consider the Ducks to be a rival or not, Barkley stirred up a little bad blood last season stating, “I think Oregon is very good this year, but I think they were better when we played them in the past.”

No argument there, Matt—the Ducks were better the year before.

But just a few months after those seemingly harmless words were uttered, Barkley’s done it again; this time taking to Twitter.

Oregon coach Chip Kelly announced his return to the University, stating that he had “unfinished business”. Barkley simply responded, “Looks like we both do.”

Innocent enough, right? But in the direction of a team that has won three of their last five meetings with the Trojans, the USC quarterback had better be ready to back up the chatter with the same kind of performance he had against them last season.

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

There may not be a more celebrated quarterback to begin next year's college football season than Matt Barkley.

And what a ride it's been to get here.

As the only true freshman to ever start for the Trojans at quarterback, Barkley didn't exactly impress on the stat sheets his first season. Fifteen touchdowns and 14 interceptions were only good enough to get the Trojans to a 9-4 record, with all four losses coming in conference.

During his first three seasons as USC's starting quarterback, Barkley and the Trojans have only been eligible for postseason play once. But with the bowl ban lifted, Barkley has officially moved USC back into BCS relevancy.

From making a run for a national championship, to competing for a Heisman Trophy, Barkley is in the spotlight, and all eyes are on USC. 

But while Barkley has been very good as a Trojan—great at times—his record against ranked opponents remains just 5-5. 

He was 3-2 his freshman season against ranked competition, but despite his individual stats rising substantially since his inaugural year, his record against top-25 teams has gotten worse.

A few mysterious losses in his first two seasons stick out on his record, such as Washington and Oregon State—both had losing records. But last year, even in his best season yet, Arizona State, the third-place team in the Pac-12 South, was able to catch the Trojans by surprise.

That can't happen next season.

With teams no longer looking past the Trojans, and everybody looking to take down the beast week after week, the ultimate question here is, can Barkley prove that he is a winner with all eyes on him?

If the answer is yes, than USC just might be headed to the many wonderful places that the pre-season banter has projected them to be a part of.

But if the answer is no, and he manages to underproduce when it counts the most, the honorable return to help a team make a bowl game will be nothing but a nice gesture from great quarterback.