Youtube/USCAthletics

So USC avoided the trap and pulled out the win over Utah, and Matt Barkley’s performance was…interesting. That, and a good improvement. He threw no picks in this game (though he came close to one in the end zone), and finally got the big downfield TD pass to Marqise Lee that everyone has been waiting for. He finished with a stat line of 23/30, 303 yards, and 3 TDs. It was his 12th career 300-yd passing game, and he is now five TDs away from 100 career TDs and passing Matt Leinart for the school’s career TD record.

In addition to this, Barkley got a chance to demonstrate some of his intangible strengths as a team leader. After he and Khaled Holmes completely brainfarted with two bad snaps that spotted the Utes 14 points to start the game, Barkley kept calm and kept smiling. On the next drive, the offense drove down the field for a touchdown, with Barkley completing four passes for 48 yards on the drive. Barkley’s composure was a major factor that helped the Trojans put up a productive performance after the bad start, as they racked up 433 yards of offense and four total TDs. We will have to wait until the other big names play on Saturday to see if this game changes the perception of Barkley in the eyes of the pundits.

Until then, we’ve got an amusing USC video to show you.  Last week, we showed you a video of Barkley getting a lesson on how to do a dig from the USC Women’s Volleyball team.  Well this week, Barkley continued his experimentation with other sports as he jumped in the pool with the USC Men’s Water Polo team, who are the 4-Time defending national champions and currently 14-0 this season.  Barkley’s dad, Les, was an All-American water polo player at USC, but Matt had a bit of a harder time with it, though his QB arm strength helped.  The same can’t be said for his teammate T.J. McDonald, who was struggling just to keep his head above the water!

And yes, there is a quick underwater shot in this vid. Giggity.