Barkley Not Named Heisman Finalist

Five players will head to New York for Saturday night's Heisman trophy ceremony, but USC's Matt Barkley will not be one of them.

The junior quarterback was not selected as one of five finalists despite a late push in the final weeks of the season. The finalists are Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, Alabama running back Trent Richardson, Wisconsin running back Monte Ball, and LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.

Barkley pushed his way into the Heisman discussion after USC upset then No. 4 Oregon 38-35 in Eugene on Nov. 19. Barkley threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Following the victory, USC launched its own Heisman campaign for Barkley and released a video highlighting some of his accomplishments. (USC Athletic Director Pat Haden later told ESPNLosAngeles.com that he wished the school had started the campaign sooner.)

This season, Barkley threw 39 touchdown passes, which was second-most in the country and the most ever at USC. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and recorded 308 completions throughout the season, just one fewer than the number USC quarterback Carson Palmer completed during his Heisman season in 2002. Barkley completed 83.3 percent of his passes in the team's final game of the season against UCLA.

Barkley broke a school record when he completed six touchdown passes in a single game, and he managed to accomplish this feat twice this season- once against Colorado and again against UCLA.

The 77th annual Heisman Trophy ceremony will take place in New York City next Saturday night and will air live on ESPN starting at 5 p.m.