Tag: Bryson Barnes

USC could have a reunion with a pig farmer vs Utah State

It’s likely that former Utah Ute Bryson Barnes, the pig farmer, will play against USC with Utah State on Saturday night. It’s revenge time, folks.

When Utah State’s offense takes the field at LA Memorial Coliseum late Saturday night against the USC Trojans, will it be Spencer Petras or Bryson Barnes at quarterback?

Bryson Barnes, the self-admitted pig farmer, is a familiar face to USC. He spent his the previous four years as a Utah Ute in the Pac-12. The former walk-on had the best game of his career in an upset over USC last season.

Barnes earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8 honors for his performance in Utah’s win over No. 18 USC in 2023, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns (14-of-23, 1 INT) with 10 rushes for a season-best 57 yards and a touchdown.

Barnes has played in 24 career games with 10 starts, going 6-4 in those starts.

Former Iowa starter and sixth-year senior Spencer Petras lost his job to Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara. He was named Utah State’s starter last month, but he suffered an injury in his first start with Utah State in the Aggies’ Week 1 victory against Robert Morris.

At Iowa during a tumultuous four years under center, Petras went 23-11 as a three-year starter. Petras threw for over 5,000 yards with 19 interceptions and 24 touchdowns.

With Barnes under center, the Aggies’ offense looked way more explosive with a huge second half Saturday, outscoring Robert Morris 26-0. Utah State finished with 646 yards of total offense (343 through the air and 303 on the ground), which was tied for the ninth-most yards in school history.

Interim head coach Nate Dreiling had this to say on the quarterback battle: 

“Spencer Petras is a very good quarterback,” he explained to reporters, “and I have 1,000% confidence in him and in Bryson Barnes. With either quarterback, we will be just fine.”

If I’m Utah State I’m going with Bryson Barnes because of his playmaking ability with this arm and legs. USC’s defense is not last year’s defense; it’s revamped and explosive as we saw versus LSU. Utah State will need any leg up it can get against the Trojans Saturday night.

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Alex Grinch has left USC, but he got embarrassed one last time in 2023

Northwestern did what Alex Grinch could not: Contain Utah.

Alex Grinch is no longer employed by USC. He will not coach another game at USC, including the upcoming Holiday Bowl against Louisville. He no longer has anything to do with USC football, and yet his overall Trojan track record took one last night on Saturday night.

Even though Grinch wasn’t coaching on Saturday night — he might have been Christmas shopping, for all we know — the former USC defensive coordinator endured one last taste of embarrassment.

In the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern, the pig farmer who embarrassed Grinch and USC got smacked around. Bryson Barnes and Utah rode the struggle bus in Vegas.

Against Northwestern, Barnes threw for just 55 yards. Against USC, he threw for 235 yards.

Against Northwestern, Barnes didn’t throw a touchdown pass. Against USC, he threw three.

Against Northwestern, the Utah offense managed just 211 yards. Against USC, 482 yards.

In both games — Northwestern and USC — Utah held the ball between 34 and 35 minutes, so it’s not as though time of possession or overall opportunities to score were dramatically different. In fact, Utah’s defense allowed just 14 points to Northwestern. This should have been an easier game for Utah to win compared to USC, and yet the Utes lost because their offense was stopped cold. It’s a final sign of just how bad Grinch was at USC.

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Bryson Barnes and Utah offense get smothered in Las Vegas Bowl, score just 7 points

Utah’s season ended with a thud.

The Utah Utes were playing shorthanded all season long, primarily at quarterback. Cam Rising never took the field for Kyle Whittingham’s team, leaving Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson — mostly Barnes — to handle the offense.

One of the things which attracted USC to new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is that when Lynn’s UCLA defense went up against Utah’s limited offense, Lynn pounced on the opportunity. UCLA’s defense allowed only seven points to Utah’s offense. Utah scored 14 points, but seven of them were on a pick-six thrown by quarterback Dante Moore, who has since transferred to the Oregon Ducks. That 14-7 Utah win over UCLA was a selling point for D’Anton Lynn.

Utah’s offense looked a lot like that UCLA game when it played the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern on Saturday night. Bryson Barnes and the Utes’ offense were smothered in this game. They didn’t score in the first three quarters and managed only one touchdown for the game. Utah’s defense was — as usual — excellent, limiting Northwestern to just 14 points.

Utah’s offense was not able to exceed that modest point total. Northwestern 14, Utah 7.

Utah will have Cam Rising for 2024 in the Big 12 Conference. USC will be glad to not face Rising ever again (unless the teams somehow meet in a 2024 bowl game).

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Oregon humiliates Utah QB Bryson Barnes one week after he torched Alex Grinch and USC

Bryson Barnes doesn’t play well vs decent defenses. Everyone knew this. It’s another argument against Alex Grinch.

It turns out that Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes isn’t all that good — at least if he has to face a competent defense.

Oregon has a competent defense, and the Ducks limited Barnes to just six points on Saturday in a 35-6 wipeout of the Utes.

Barnes looked like a world-beater the week before against USC. Alex Grinch-coached defenses have a way of making average players look special.

Barnes and Utah scored 34 points against USC. Utah drove for the game-winning field goal in the final minute of regulation, with a 26-yard run by Barnes putting the Utes in position to kick a winning 38-yard field goal on the game’s final play.

Against Oregon, however, Barnes and his offense were smothered.

Barnes hit just 15 of 29 passes for only 136 yards and two interceptions versus the Ducks. A week earlier, he threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns with only one pick against Alex Grinch and USC.

Barnes ran for 57 yards against USC. He rushed for only four yards against Oregon.

A so-so quarterback was actually never that good, but USC made him look like Michael Vick.

It’s yet another argument against Alex Grinch.

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

5 Utah Utes Oregon needs to look out for on Saturday

These are the five Utes Oregon needs to play close attention to if the Ducks want to win on Saturday.

Not many would have thought Utah would be in this position without their starting quarterback Cam Rising. The Utes are No. 13 in the country with a 6-1 record and are coming off a big win over USC on the road.

And all of this has been done by switching quarterback numerous times between Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson, neither of whom has been spectacular, but both of whom have been serviceable.

It’s been the Utah defense that has held everything together and it’s that defense that will give the Utes a good chance against Oregon this Saturday. They have one of the best defensive ends in the country as well as an opportunistic and fundamentally sound unit that gives Utah a fighting chance, no matter who is at quarterback.

Currently, it looks as if Barnes has won the job after his good game at USC, but he has shown to be inconsistent at best.

These are the five Utes Oregon needs to pay close attention to if the Ducks want to get out of Rice-Eccles Stadium with a win on Saturday.

Utah QB drama, a season-long reality, could affect USC’s season on Saturday

Signs currently point to Bryson Barnes being the QB for Utah against USC. Cam Rising still hasn’t played this season.

The college football world first became aware of quarterback Bryson Barnes during Utah’s first Rose Bowl appearance in 2022 after Cam Rising suffered a concussion against Ohio State. With Rising still unavailable to play, Barnes and teammate Nate Johnson have quarterbacked Utah through Week 7. Everyone is waiting to see if Rising might become available for the Utes in Week 8 against USC. It could be the most important story attached to this game.

Barnes has been up and down this season and has battled through his own injuries this year.

Bryson Barnes has played in four games with two starts, recording 270 yards on 23-of-45 passing (1 TD, 2 INT) and adding 14 carries for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Nate Johnson has played in five games, going 39-of-72 passing (3 TD) for 499 yards, adding 56 rushes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

USC Football’s Oct. 21 home game versus Utah will kick off just aftre 5:00 p.m. Pacific time and will air nationally on Fox.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

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Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.