#2 USC Upset By Stanford 21-14

With the clock ticking down and his team trailing by a touchdown, Matt Barkley’s offensive line was not able to provide him with a proper opportunity to tie up the game, as they were brushed aside by the powerful Stanford pass-rush. Finally, after Barkley was sacked on 4th down, QB JoshNunez took a knee with nine seconds left and the Stanford fans rushed the field. Once again, Lane Kiffin’s #2 USC team has lost to Stanford, and this time they can also say goodbye to their national title hopes and, in all likelihood, the Heisman chances of Senior Quarterback Matt Barkley.

Sep 8, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley (7) walks off the field following his teams 42-29 victory over the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE

For Washington, the stakes of the Stanford game on September 27th at CenturyLink field have been raised a notch. Unlike for the San Diego State and Portland State games, the Husky crowd will fill the stadium with a false-start inciting roar that will make the atmosphere electric. Even with the home field advantage, the prospect of facing a Stanford team supercharged by an upset of the top team in the Pac-12 is daunting. Stanford’s offense runs through the powerful rushing of Stepfan Taylor, just the type of offensive style that has overwhelmed the Huskies in the past few seasons. While the game will almost certainly be competitive, what we’ve seen of this year’s team doesn’t necessarily suggest that they are capable of physically overpowering the Cardinal. Unfortunately, that appears to be the only way to beat Stanford.