FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The first loss, to Washington, wasn't really a surprise since the Trojans usually drop a close game to a bottom-of-the-Pac-10 opponent. The Oregon game was just shockingly bad.

But when Stanford gave 'SC its third - and hopefully last - loss of the '09 season, it was ugly.

At home, for homecoming, USC got owned.

The Matt Barkley era is off to a great start, huh?

A rookie quarterback is just one of USC's many glaring problems this season, along with a crippling number of injuries stretching back to the preseason on top of the loss of nearly all the top defensive players to the NFL.

The new defensive starters might be just as fast, athletic, and talented as their predecessors now suiting up on Sundays, but they certainly haven't played like it. For the last five games, it's looked like they've forgotten they were playing at all. During the Stanford game, announcer & former Trojan Petros Papadakis said he couldn't remember when the defense got pushed around like that.

Losing so many defenders, especially Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, and Kaluka Maiava, definitely hurt. The defection of defensive coordinator Nick Holt to Washington hurt even more. Under the fiery Holt, the defense was both aggressive and disciplined. Right now, even with a supposedly defense-oriented head coach, the play is sloppy. The players have literally been playing back on their heels during the last two losses. I don't think you'd see that under a Nick Holt defense - at least not more than once.

USC could compensate for its weak and untested defense, at least until the guys got up to speed, if the offense could keep the ball and stay on the field for long scoring drives. Instead, they turned the ball over four times and Stanford turned those turnovers into touchdowns. On the Cardinal's very first possession, USC forced a three and out. On the Trojans' first possession, true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley fumbled. It was all downhill - or downfield for Stanford - after that.

Barkley's a talented kid but he must improve if he's going to be the future of this team. He won't last in that role if he doesn't, no matter how much Pete Carroll likes him.

After the Oregon game, Barkley took responsibility, saying it all starts with him. The team's struggles are not all his fault, not by a long shot, but if he throws to people wearing the same jersey as he is, he helps keep the sieve-like defense on the sidelines, which, frankly, is what needs to happen until they learn how to tackle. Shouldering the burden while the defense rebuilds is a tall order for a true freshman, but until the Stanford game, Barkley seemed capable.

When he's good, he's been very, very good. When he's bad, the entire team looks horrid, like it did against Stanford, when the pressure appeared to finally crack Matty B's upbeat aura. After the second interception, the cameras found him on the sidelines, watching his feet rather than the field. (Hey, where was Coach Bates then? Usually they're inseparable on the sidelines, and if Barkley ever needed a pep talk, it was at that moment.) When USC got the ball back, it was another interception and another shot of the dejected quarterback hanging his head.

Hopefully, he'll get his groove and his confidence back en route to becoming the next iteration of the ridiculously good (and good-looking) Trojans quarterback. Hopefully, the defense will learn that lunging towards the ball carrier is not technically a tackle and is not usually effective.

And, hopefully, the injury report will get a little shorter. Every team loses players to injuries, but the young Trojans team has been hit hard. They might be talented, but with so many players hurt, they're not very deep. Talent doesn't trump protective boots, crutches and neck braces, and even when the players are back on the field, they're generally not right back at 100%. Losing key playmakers has just made Barkley's job more difficult while chipping away at an already inexperienced and untested defense. (Well, by this point, they've been tested. And they failed.)

What's next for 'SC, besides a non-BCS bowl? I wish I could say there's nowhere to go but up, but technically that's not true, even if it feels like it. Many programs would be thrilled with a 3-loss season, but USC isn't (usually) just any program. Unfortunately, this year's USC team is not quite the elite Trojans squad to which we've become accustomed. I don't think even the team knows who it is at this point - or what kind of team it will become.