Barkley Breaks Passing Record As USC Beats Arizona 48-41

BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) Matt Barkley passed for a school-record 468 yards and four touchdowns, Robert Woods made 14 catches for 255 yards and two scores, and Southern California outlasted Arizona 48-41 Saturday.

Freshmen Marqise Lee and Xavier Grimble caught TD passes from Barkley, who also rushed for a score while breaking Carson Palmer's 2002 yardage record with a blistering performance against Arizona's maligned defense.

The Trojans (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12) needed almost every yard against Arizona's Nick Foles, who passed for 425 yards and four TDs of his own. USC outgained Arizona 582-554 in a game largely devoid of defense.

Ka'Deem Carey rushed for two touchdowns and caught another scoring pass for the Wildcats (1-4, 0-3), who haven't beaten an FBS opponent in nearly a year.

Barkley went 32 for 39 with one interception, bouncing back from a rough start at Arizona State last week with another landmark game. After setting the USC record for single-game completions in the season opener, the junior has thrown nine TD passes in his last two home games.

Woods is having the most prolific season by a receiver in USC's long history through five games, starting off this chapter with an 82-yard score on the Trojans' second play.

The speedy sophomore, who set the USC mark with 17 catches in that season-opening win over Minnesota, fell 5 yards short of R. Jay Soward's 260-yard school record when Arizona held him to one catch for 2 yards in the fourth quarter.

Keola Antolin rushed for 87 yards for Arizona, which has lost four straight despite its prolific offense. Star receiver Juron Criner was limited to three catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Foles went 41 for 53, but threw two drive-killing interceptions to T.J. McDonald in the first half that allowed USC to pull away with a 27-12 halftime lead. The Trojans stayed ahead throughout the second half to stay unbeaten in four home games this season, repeatedly covering up for defensive struggles with offensive brilliance.

Woods took charge from USC's second play, catching a short pass from Barkley and splitting two defenders before outrunning the entire Arizona secondary down the sideline for a score. Lee caught a wide-open 38-yard TD pass from Barkley late in the first quarter when Arizona's entire defense appeared to focus on Woods, and Grimble caught a 7-yard scoring strike midway through the second quarter.

Arizona's spread offense also moved the ball easily against USC, punting just once in the first three quarters - but Foles' mistakes put the Wildcats in a huge hole. Foles' first interception of the season killed the Wildcats' second drive in USC territory, and Foles badly overthrew David Douglas in the Trojans' end on the next drive.

McDonald, the hard-hitting safety, made both interceptions for the Trojans, who had just one interception in their first four games.

Woods caught a 28-yard TD pass down the middle just 2:03 into the third quarter, putting the Trojans up 34-12. But Foles kept the Wildcats moving for back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter, bookending Barkley's only turnover.

After Curtis McNeal rushed for 9-yard score with 9:28 to play to put the Trojans up by 14 points, USC turned the ball over on downs at midfield in the closing minutes. Austin Hill caught a 4-yard TD pass from Foles with 1 minute to play, but McDonald recovered an onside kick to seal it.

USC has won nine of its last 10 meetings with the Wildcats, who won in their last visit to the Coliseum two years ago.

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