A shoulder injury sidelined USC quarterback Matt Barkley for his final home game as a Trojan -- a loss to No. 1 Notre Dame. It appears, though, that the injury won’t prevent him from starting his last game with USC.
Lane Kiffin said Sunday that he expected Barkley to play in the Sun Bowl against Georgia Tech.
“He hasn’t gone to a bowl game the last couple years, so it’s a chance to go to one and finish off strong for him and for the senior class,” Kiffin said. Barkley told the “Dan Patrick Show” on Monday that there was no long-term damage to his shoulder, although he didn’t know about a timetable for return.
For as great as Barkley has been, his time at USC has been filled with plenty of disappointments and some bad luck thrown in. The NCAA imposed sanctions on the program that included a two-year bowl ban, so Barkley’s only bowl experience is an Emerald Bowl win three years ago against Boston College. This year, USC was the preseason No. 1 team and expected to compete for a BCS championship. Instead, the Trojans went 7-5. Top that off with Barkley being unable to play on senior day.
But Barkley’s never once complained about it and maintains that he’s glad he came back for one more year. Now he should get one last chance to go out on top.