Click here to watch Lane Kiffin's post-game press conference.
Click here to watch Barkley, Robert Woods and T.J. McDonald in the media room.
(Photos by John McGillen)
- Matt Barkley sets the USC single-game passing yards record. The junior captain finished 32 for 39 with 468 yards passing and 4 TDs to 1 INT. "It's definitely an honor," Barkley said about breaking Carson Palmer's record. "It's a real tribute to Coach Kiffin's play-calling for one and then receivers just making plays. It's crazy to think about because I grew up looking up to Carson Palmer and he's one of my heroes. To be on that list is pretty cool."
- Robert Woods came up just five yards shy of the school record for receiving yards in a game (R. Jay Soward had 260 yards receiving vs. UCLA in 1996). "Matt is putting the ball right on the money," Woods complimented his quarterback. Barkley volleyed the praise back at Woods for all the yards after the catch. "Two for two for 90 yards or whatever it was. That's a nice way to start out the game," Barkley laughed about Woods breaking the opening TD after a short pass.
- The offensive line did not allow a single sack. While Barkley, Woods and now Marqise Lee get all the plaudits, the offensive line bounced back from a rough night in Tempe to pitch a shutout against Arizona. "Our line was a huge component of getting all those yards today," Barkley pointed out. The head coach made sure to call out the entire line in his post-game locker room speech.
- The defense allowed 554 yards of total offense. "That's a great quarterback with some great receivers," Kiffin praised Arizona. "We bent a little bit more than we'd like in the second half. It's just not coming together exactly." How do they get it fixed in the next 10 days? "Preparation and not being scared to make plays," said defensive captain T.J. McDonald.
- Anthony Brown relied on his instincts to force the only stop of the second half for the Trojans. The redshirt freshman made his debut as a starter and jumped the route on back-to-back plays. The first gamble led to a tackle for loss and the second forced a coverage sack by Nick Perry. "They put me in a position to make that play the first time and they came back with the same look the second time, but I could see the quarterback was faking it, so I bailed out," Brown explained. "'SC is all about making big plays."
- The Trojans won the turnover margin (+1) behind two McDonald picks. "The big thing was that we've been emphasizing turnovers," said McDonald, who handed his head coach the ball after each one. "If we win the turnover margin, we get ice cream. I made sure to give him the ball, so he can keep count of the turnovers." Arizona QB Nick Foles had not throw an interception coming into the game.
- Both teams scored six touchdowns. Andre Heidari made the difference with two field goals, including a 46-yarder, which rewarded his coach's faith to go for three on 4th and short.
- The Trojans head into the bye week with RB Marc Tyler and WR Marqise Lee banged up plus CB Torin Harris, RB Amir Carlisle and LB Lamar Dawson on the mend. "It's a good chance for us to find some other guys, move around some rotations and get guys healthy too," Kiffin said about the 10-day break.
