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Barkley's Legend Born as Pryor Stumbles

Sep 13, 2009 – 3:55 AM
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Jay Mariotti

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- So what if he was surrounded by 106,000 loons, all standing and shaking and shrieking in the fabled Horseshoe, all sensing a merciful end to Ohio State's humiliating big-game-loss stigma? So what if the forbidding first few notes of the White Stripes screamer, "Seven Nation Army,'' kept pounding through the speakers like a throbbing headache? So what if USC was stuck at its 5-yard line, looking at second-and-19 and a five-point deficit with six minutes left?

And so what if Matt Barkley's throwing shoulder was aching, a victim of a throwdown by defensive tackle Nathan Williams? Somehow, none of these issues gave Barkley any reason for pause Saturday night. He wears No. 7, like another California-bred quarterback who once forged a legend deep in his own territory in a hostile environment. Just as John Elway told his mates that they had their opponents right where they wanted them, Barkley had calming words for the Trojans when all seemed lost. The difference between the two?

Filed under: NCAA Football, Sports

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