Trojans Bounce Back Against the Golden Bears
The Trojans are finally back on their feet after a bounce-back 27-9 win over the California Golden Bears. Still feeling the pain of their loss to the Stanford Cardinal last week, USC played with a vengeance Saturday afternoon and came out with their first conference win of the season.
Leading the Trojans' offensive charge were running backs Silas Redd and Curtis McNeal who had 158 and 115 yards respectively, giving USC their first pair of 100-yard rushers since 2008. Redd had 21 carries for 158 yards and a score for the Trojans, showing off their Trojans much improved running game.
"Everything was clicking for us on all cyliders today," said Redd. "I couldn't be more proud of the guys up front."
Wide receiver Marqise Lee put up a solid performance on the Trojans' offense as well, with 11 catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Matt Barkley played second-string to his skill players, with a mixed performance of 192-yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Barkley greatly improved his statistics from last week against the Cardinal, where he completed only 21 of 40 passes.
Against the Golden Bears, Barkley completed 22 of 34. After lobbing a fade to Robert Woods in the first quarter only to get picked off, Barkley looked like he was playing on the Farm again. However, Barkley said that the interception was merely a "miscommunication." Still, Barkley struggled to find Woods, as he only had 5 catches for 30 yards.
USC's star center Khaled Holmes--who was carried off the field a few weeks ago against Syracuse--started against the Golden Bears. However, his relief to the offensive line was short lived, as he was carted off the field, once again, during the fourth quarter.
On the other side of the ball, USC's defense shut down quarterback Zach Maynard and the Golden Bear's offense. Specifically, T.J. McDonald who had a crucial pick in the third at the Trojans' 7-yard line. USC held the Golden Bears to 250 yards while sacking Maynard seven times.
The Trojans have the upcoming week off to recover and prepare for back-to-back road games against the Utah Utes and Washington Huskies to start off their October season.
COMPLETE POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:
Lane Kiffin, Matt Barkley, Marqise Lee, Silas Redd, George Uko, Robert Woods, T.J. McDonald, Nickell Robey
