Matt Barkley (QB, USC): The numbers look a lot better in the box score (26 for 39, 324 yards, 5 TDs-0 INTs) than they did on the field. Barkley appeared to lock in on his primary target causing him to force the ball into double coverage at times. He also dinked and dunked the ball off quite a bit. This skewed his 324 passing yards because his receivers gained plenty of YAC. Barkley did improve about half way into the second quarter, looking/completing some passes down field. Barkley will have to go through his progressions and take some more shots down the field this weekend as he leads USC into Arizona to take on the Sun Devils.
Trent Richardson (RB, Bama): Richardson and the Crimson Tide had no problem handling North Texas. Richardson needed only 11 carries to gain 167 yards (15.2 YPC) with 3 TDs. Take out his 71 yard TD run and he still had 10 carries for 96 yards (9.6 YPC).
Justin Blackmon (WR, OK State): Blackmon’s record of 100 yard games (14 straight) ended this weekend as he caught 7 balls for only 57 yards including 1 TD. It was obvious that Oklahoma State’s game plan was to run, run and run some more against Tulsa right out of the gate. It was nice to see Blackmon be a part of that, blocking down field consistantly. OSU has their toughest test of the season this weekend as they have to go on the road against #8 Texas A&M.
Zach Brown (LB, UNC): Mr. Brown was all over the field on Saturday, covering RBs, WRs and rushing the QB. He also found himself on the TV screen at the end of the play (great pursuing, closing speed). He ended the day with 12 tackles, 7 solo and a forced fumble. The only downside of his day that I noticed was on at least 2 occasions he let himself get blocked to the inside when he was suppose to have containment on the end allowing a big run. Brown and the stellar UNC D meets up with ACC rival Georgia Tech this Saturday on ESPN.
Cliff Harris (DB, Oregon): Harris didn’t enter the game until the second quarter and did not record a tackle, pass deflection or return a kick.