LOS ANGELES — Matt Barkley has received heaps of praise, from Los Angeles to Bristol, Conn., for his debut as Southern California’s first true freshman to start an opener at quarterback. However, that was with a vanilla offense in a 56-3 win over San Jose State. At home.
Tonight at 6 p.m. MDT, the top-rated prep quarterback in the country last year gets his real introduction to college football. That’s when he and his third-ranked Trojans (1-0) visit eighth-ranked Ohio State (1-0).
All week in practice, USC coach Pete Carroll piped in ear-splitting noise that could be heard across campus. It may not be nearly as loud as 100,000 people in expanded Ohio Stadium.
“Bring it on,” Barkley said after Tuesday’s practice. “I’ll imagine they’re all cheering for us.”
This is a huge game for Ohio State, not to mention the Big Ten, which has taken credibility shots as hard as what USC plans to deliver. Last September, USC throttled Ohio State 35-3 in L.A., and the conference subsequently went 1-6 in bowl games.
The Buckeyes barely escaped Navy last week 31-27. Navy is much tougher than San Jose State, but Barkley’s nearly flawless 15-for-19 day was a nice confidence boost heading into the biggest game in the country this weekend.
“It just kind of solidified that I can do this,” he said.
Also, USC’s graduation-depleted defense gets a true test from OSU quarterback Terrelle Pryor and his two new running backs, junior Brandon Saine, who has returned from an injury-plagued 2008, and sophomore Daniel Herrin.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com
Games to watch
Air Force (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0)
5 p.m., TCF Bank Stadium, BIG TEN Network
To get ready for the noise in the opening of the Gophers’ new $300 million stadium, Air Force as been practicing with music blaring behind the offense. The 50,805-seat open-air facility will surely be rocking. Gophers’ defense has two talented DTs in Garrett Brown and Eric Small to attack Air Force’s option. Falcons FB Jared Tew and QB Tim Jefferson, left, are the lead playmakers in the run-first scheme. They’ll face Brown and Small up front and a talented trio of LBs led by reigning Big Ten defensive player of the week Lee Campbell and Simoni Lawrence.
Weber State (0-1) at Colorado State (1-0)
3 p.m., Hughes Stadium
The Rams have started 2-0 only three previous times this decade, and just once over the previous six years. Watch for another big day for the Rams’ Leonard Mason, left, and John Mosure, who again will share the running back duties. Weber State gave up 246 yards rushing last week to Wyoming. Wildcats QB Cameron Higgins, who threw five interceptions last week, has started 20 straight games. Trevyn Smith is the school career rushing leader but faces a CSU defense that limited Colorado to 29 yards rushing last week. Higgins and Smith are on the Walter Payton Trophy watch list.
No. 2 Texas (1-0) at Wyoming (1-0)
1:30 p.m., War Memorial Stadium, VERSUS
The Longhorns’ defense needs a good game against a spread offense to get ready for next week’s showdown with Texas Tech. First-year Wyoming coach Dave Christensen would make a huge splash with an upset. The Cowboys intercepted five passes last week against Weber State, three by freshman strong safety Shamiel Gary. At left, UT quarterback Colt McCoy’s seven incompletions in the first half against Louisiana-Monroe were more than or equal to his total in eight games last season. Texas played in front of 101,096 last week at home. War Memorial (30,514) will be the smallest venue for Texas this season.
San Diego (0-1) at Northern Colorado (0-1)
1:30 p.m., Nottingham Field
Northern Colorado will come out with a revamped receiving corps after losing starters Brandon Smith (torn ACL) and Dominic Gunn (broken foot) for the season. Both were injured in last week’s opener at Kansas. The Bears’ defense, which was expected to be solid along the front line, gave up 328 yards rushing and five TDs to KU. San Diego’s defense was stout in its opener, holding Azusa Pacific to just 12 yards rushing. Tailback Phil Morelli, left, who played at Mullen and then redshirted at Colorado State before transferring in 2008, leads the Toreros’ run game after coming on last season as an injury replacement.
Fort Lewis (1-1) at CSU-Pueblo (1-1)
6 p.m., ThunderBowl
Year 2 for the Thunderwolves’ program has gotten off to a better start. There is more confidence and familiarity with the system. In last week’s loss at Northwestern Oklahoma, QB Colin Clancy, left, threw for a school-record 309 yards. Fort Lewis came from behind to win its opener, but lost 58-10 last week at No. 3 Abilene Christian. The Skyhawks are playing two quarterbacks — freshman Tim Jenkins, who was pulled last week for Justin Peters — and are struggling to find a running game. The have 49 total yards in the first two games. That could be trouble against a CSU-P defense that has been strong against the run.
Players to watch
Vondrell McGee, Texas
The starting tailback ran for 70 yards and a TD in his first game but had two fumbles and a dropped pass. Another game like that could send him to bench. at Wyo., 1:30 p.m., Versus
Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State
In last year’s game against Houston, Bryant had nine catches for a career- high 236 yards and three touchdowns. vs. Houston, 1:30 p.m., FSN
Brody Eldridge, Oklahoma
After Jermaine Gresham’s season-ending knee surgery, Eldridge could play some at his original tight end position after serving as the starting center last week. vs. Idaho St., 5 p.m.
Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
The Buckeyes’ quarterback has been touchy about those who have questioned his ability to pass, so this could be the time to answer the doubters. vs. USC, 6 p.m., ESPN
Riley Cooper, Florida
The receiver caught five passes for 105 yards last week despite vomiting several times on the field. vs. Troy, 10:21 a.m.
