Yahoo Sports: Suddenly surging, USC braces for the last temptation of Matt Barkley
For the better part of two years, the general feeling at USC has been one of decline, or at least bracing for decline. Pete Carroll bolted for the NFL, the new coach had no track record to speak of, the NCAA dropped its most heavy-handed sanctions in years. After six years spent almost entirely in the top 10, the Trojans have spent most of the last two clinging to the fringes of the top 25, or out of the polls altogether. They lost four games in 2009, Carroll's final season, and five in 2010, Lane Kiffin's first. The lost to ...