Heisman Trophy Watch: Matt Barkley a Victim of TV Schedule and NCAA Sanctions

USC quarterback Matt Barkley has emerged as a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy this season, yet his candidacy figures to be hindered by a laundry list of factors well beyond his own control.

I'm not talking about the stellar play of his peers, including Stanford's Andrew Luck, Alabama's Trent Richardson, Houston's Case Keenum and Baylor's Robert Griffin III, though they are all more than worthy of the consideration they will surely garner.

No, I'm talking about the Trojans' television schedule and the sanctions placed on the program by the NCAA as a result of the negligence of former head coach Pete Carroll and former athletic director Mike Garrett in their (non-)handling of the Reggie Bush scandal. The fact that SC has already played in three games that started after 9 p.m. ET hasn't kept Barkley's name from popping in the Heisman conversation, though the team's West Coast starts did delay his entry into the race by making it more difficult for voters and viewers on the East Coast to behold his quarterbacking brilliance for themselves.

Now that he's more or less in the discussion, Barkley might as easily lose ground on Saturday, not because of poor play but rather (again) due to an unfavorably late kickoff. He and the Trojans are set to renew their druthers with crosstown-rival UCLA at the LA Coliseum at 10:15 p.m. ET. That late of a start figures to turn off pundits in the Eastern time zone, as the game itself will likely extend past their bed time.

Which is unfortunate for Barkley, since this will be his last game of the season and, as such, his last opportunity to showcase his talents for prospective voters. A big game against the Bruins in the battle for the Victory Bell would only serve to enhance Barkley's already-sterling resume, which currently includes 3,105 yards passing with 33 touchdowns against just seven interceptions on a 67.6 percent success rate on passing attempts.

Saturday's game may well be Barkley's last as a collegian. He's already projected to be a top-five pick in the 2012 NFL draft and, as such, would be wise to pass up his senior season so that he may realize his dreams of playing professionally much sooner.

Of course, USC's nine wins would normally afford Barkley at least one more opportunity to play after the regular season, but this being the second year of the school's NCAA-imposed bowl ban, he and his teammates won't be allowed to play (or fight) on after Saturday.

Otherwise, the Trojans would certainly be in the BCS discussion and, as such, Barkley would be much more visible on the national stage. How many more reports would Shelley Smith be making for ESPN from USC's practice field if the team were eligible to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game and, potentially, the Rose Bowl?

Barkley still managed to get plenty of publicity for his 323-yard, four-touchdown performance in leading USC to a huge upset of then-No. 4 Oregon in Eugene.

But had the Trojans been bowl-eligible all along, or even just poll-eligible, Heisman voters would have likely followed his escapades much more closely, as the best and most important player on a Top 10 team.

Instead, Barkley has had to fight for scraps of attention, for whatever trickle-down there's been from the affection showered on Luck, Keenum, RG3 and Richardson.

Which, ultimately, makes Barkley's relevance in the Heisman race that much more remarkable. He's played so well in this, his junior season, that not even a nonexistent conspiracy between the NCAA, FOX Sports and ESPN/ABC could keep the kid from Newport Beach out of the limelight.

Shouldn't that be enough to earn him premium placement on a few more Heisman ballots, if not the bronze statue all to his lonesome?