Goin' Out With A Bang: Trojans End Disappointing Season With Win

USC showed Boston College and the world that the dynasty that ruled college football since 2002 wasn’t completely dead with an 11 point win over the Eagles in the Emerald Bowl on Saturday.

With all the off-field distractions taking place before the Emerald Bowl, it would seem as if USC would be too distracted to handle BC. The Trojans were without star RB Joe McKnight who’s being investigated for using an SUV that wasn’t his. TE Anthony McCoy and OT Tyron Smith both were sidelined for Saturday’s game due to academic issues. Without these three key offensive players, it looked as if USC might be in trouble.

However, the Trojans came out firing on all cylinders on their opening drive of the first quarter as freshman QB Matt Barkley completed all four of his passes, including a 53 yard TD pass to Stanley Havili, the result of Barkley getting pressured from the Eagles defense and just dumping the pass off to the nearest receiver.

Things looked as if they would get out of hand quick as USC scored on their opening possession of the second quarter, with Matt Barkley carving up the Eagles’ secondary with passes of four, nine, and 38 yards, and a final five yard TD pass to Havili, making the score 14-0.

The rush defense that had so many problems in games against Stanford and Oregon, who combined for 716 rushing yards against the Trojans, made a brief appearance in the second quarter, allowing Eagles RB Montel Harris to gain 72 of his 102 rushing yards and only TD. Harris led the Eagles to their first TD of the game with three consecutive runs of 10 yards or more and finally punched it in to the end zone from seven yards out.

Boston College continued to cut into the Trojans’ lead with another scoring drive, this time orchestrated by quarterback Dave Shinskie who connected with Rich Gunnell for a 61 yard TD, pulling BC within one, 14-13.

But that would be the end of scoring for the Eagles, as USC shut down BC’s offense in the third and fourth quarters and added a field goal and another TD for good measure, making the final score 24-13.

USC freshman QB Matt Barkley had a stellar passing game. He was 27/37 for 350 yards, two TDs, two INTs, and averaged 9.5 yards per pass attempt. His number one target all night was senior WR Damian Williams with 12 catches for 189 yards. Williams averaged 15.8 yards per catch with the longest of his receptions coming on a 48 yard bomb from Barkley.

The Trojans’ defense made life difficult for 25 year-old freshman QB Dave Shinskie, who only completed 14 of his 33 pass attempts for 218 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per pass, one INT, and one TD. Shinskie’s only interception came at the hands of senior CB Shareece Wright, playing his first game all year due to an ACL injury.

While the Emerald Bowl is a far cry from the previous six consecutive BCS bowl appearances for USC, it proved to be an important stepping stone for next season’s team, especially for such a young defense. Even though the season was a disappointing one for the Trojans, perhaps this win is just what they needed to turn things around.

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