TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | WIRELESS

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra! Sports Extra Tulsa World Follow us on ...


SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain

Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler

The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Southern California 19, Minnesota 17
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 3, 2011
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
Temperature: 74°
Head Official: Mike Batlan
Attendance: 68273

Matt Barkley completed 34-of-45 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns as host USC held off Minnesota, 19-17, Saturday afternoon.

Barkley threw all three of his touchdown passes to Robert Woods, who finished with a school-record 17 catches for 177 yards.

The win was the 14th straight in a season opener for USC, which is serving the second of a two-year postseason ban, the result of infractions committed under former coach Pete Carroll.

The Trojans also defeated Minnesota for the fifth straight time, but not before the Golden Gophers made things interesting in the second half.

Trailing 19-3 at halftime, Minnesota scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to pull within 19-17 with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter. Duane Bennett had a 9-yard third-quarter touchdown run and Brandon Green reeled in a 12-yard pass from Max Shortell midway through the fourth.

After forcing a punt, Minnesota had one last chance to win, but its final drive ended when Torin Harris intercepted a Shortell pass near midfield with 53 seconds left.

The loss spoiled the debut of new Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill, who took over in the offseason after a three-year run at Northern Illinois.

Minnesota, a sizable underdog, certainly had its chances.

The Gophers failed to convert on two first-half field goal attempts, one of which was blocked on their opening drive. The Trojans scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession.

USC running back D.J. Morgan, filling in for the suspended Marc Tyler, finished with 70 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Minnesota   Southern California
Duane Bennett Player D.J. Morgan
15 Attempts 18
53 Yards 70
3.5 Avg Yards 3.9
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Receiving
Minnesota   Southern California
Marcus Jones Player Robert Woods
3 Receptions 17
51 Yards 177
17.0 Avg Yards 10.4
0 Touchdowns 3
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Minnesota 302 110 192 2 1 0 0.0 1
Southern California 371 67 304 3 0 1 3.0 1