NCAA Profiles – USC Trojans Matt Barkley

Starting a true freshman at quarterback takes guts. So far, for the USC Trojans, it hasn’t been a big deal. Starting Matt Barkley at quarterback this past Saturday yielded fantastic results. The NCAA football odds on the Trojans game against San Jose State didn’t reflect that Barkley was a true freshman as the betting line drifted up to 33 ½ by kick-off.

What did Barkley do in his first game under center for USC? How about 15 out of 19 for 233 yards and a touchdown? Barkley hails from Mater Dei High School, a known SoCal football factory, so the fact that he did well against San Jose State probably should have been expected in hind sight.

But how well will Barkley do once USC gets into the meet of their schedule? And, more importantly, how will Barkley’s play affect the NCAA football odds on USC Trojan games?

Let’s take a look at a few key games.

Sept. 12 – - USC vs. Ohio State – - I want o highlight this game because Matt Barkley figures to do very well against an Ohio State squad that gave up 27 points to Navy. Barkley’s quarterback rating is going to once again be off the charts. Over 200 yards passing and 2 touchdown passes is what I expect to see. Bet the Trojans to cover in this game.

Oct. 3 rd – - USC vs. California – - Because USC and Matt Barkley will have dominated their opponents up to this point, the NCAA football odds no doubt will be in favor of the USC Trojans. To this point, Barkley will look he cannot do anything wrong, but California is the first true test for the true freshman. How will Barkley respond? He will have a bad game. Bad enough for the Trojans to lose? I’m not so sure? I do believe wagering under the BetOnline Total will probably be called for, though.

Oct. 17 th – - USC vs. Notre Dame – - A week later, Barkley and the Trojans will travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on Jimmy Clausen and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This game will be hailed as an old school versus new school matchup as Clausen has been at Notre Dame for a while. I predict that the Mater Dei product bounces back in this game and that USC covers the spread. Make no mistake, the NCAA football odds will favor the Trojans no mater what Notre Dame does from here until Oct. 17 th.

Nov. 28 th – - UCLA vs. USC – - A lot of east coasters don’t realize how important this game is to football fans living on the west coast. This is a huge rivalry game. So much so that often times during the summer Fox Sports West will replay some of the classic football matchups between USC and UCLA. How will Matt Barkley do in his first big rivalry game? Not so well. Often times, USC quarterbacks fail in this game, think Matt Leinart a few weeks ago, a true freshman has no shot. I won’t say that UCLA upsets USC this year, but when it comes to the NCAA football odds, make no mistake, this is going to be a close game and that UCLA should beat the spread.