Barkley's Legendary Career as a Trojan Comes to a Close

USC senior quarterback Matt Barkley will not play in the Sun Bowl, but the impact he had as a Trojan will never be forgotten. (Kirby Lee)

Matt Barkley's senior season at the University of Southern California did not go as he had hoped. He won't even be able to join his teammates when they take the field in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Monday. A shoulder injury suffered in a loss to rival UCLA caused Barkley to miss the two biggest games of the last chapter of his collegiate career.

While the final chapter may be drawing to a close, Barkley had many great moments at the helm of the Trojans offense. As a ture freshman, he won the job as a starter.  In his second career start, Barkley led USC to an 18-15 win at No. 8 Ohio State. While his performance was far from perfect, he led the Trojans on a game-winning touchdown drive with only minutes left.

Five weeks later, Barkley led USC to another impressive win at Notre Dame. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 380 yards and two touchdowns. In what turned out to be the only bowl game of his career, Barkley led the Tojans to victory over Boston College 24-13 in the Emerald Bowl.

Following the bowl win, began a time of rocky transition for the USC football program. Head coach Pete Carroll left for a job in the NFL. The program was put on probation and given heavy sanctions. Lane Kiffin was also a controversial hire as the new head coach during the difficult stretch.

Barkley had every right to leave the program that was in under disarray and transfer. Nevertheless, he remained loyal to the school and his teammates. As could be expected, Barkley's sophomore season was nothing to write home about. He played well against Andrew Luck and Stanford, but came away the loser. An ankle injury forced him to miss the Notre Dame game, but he was able to return in time to lift the Trojans past their rival UCLA.

By the time Barkley's junior season rolled around, he was comfortable and ready to shine in Kiffin's offense. Barkley began the season by setting the USC single game record for completions with 34 against Minnesota. In an October 1 win over Arizona, he set the single-game record for passing yards with 468. On November 4, he passed for a another school record against Colorado. This time it was the single-game record for touchdowns in a game with 6.

Records weren't the only thing Barkley accomplished as a junior. He led USC to huge road wins at Notre Dame and Oregon. In the rivalry game against UCLA, the Trojans destroyed the Bruins 50-0 behind Barkley's six touchdown passes. That gave him a season total of 39, which became a new Pac-12 record. Everyone expected that to be a fitting end to Barkely's career at USC.

Barkley though had other plans as he passed on the NFL Draft for year to return to the Trojans for his senior year. A 7-5 overall record and 5-4 in the Pac-12 probably isn't what he had in mind. A season cut short by injury probably wasn't in his plans either. Despite all of that, the fact that he will be on the sidelines motivating his teammates in his final game is a testimony to his commitment to them and what it means to be a Trojan at the University of Southern California.