Dillon Baxter

USC receiver Robert Woods and quarterback Matt Barkley enjoyed record-setting performances Saturday in USC's low-scoring 19-17 victory over Minnesota at the Coliseum. Woods, a sophomore, caught 17 passes, eclipsing the USC single-game mark of 15 set by Johnnie Morton against Houston in 1993. Woods was sidelined most of training camp because of a high ankle sprain and also has nursed a sore right elbow. But against Minnesota he caught almost everything thrown his way, including touchdown passes of seven, 43 and two yards.

Matt Barkley watched from the sideline at the Coliseum last November as Notre Dame ended USC's eight-game winning streak in the series. The Trojans quarterback had suffered an ankle injury the previous week. "I was feeling kind of helpless," Barkley said Tuesday. "It's a terrible feeling. " Barkley is looking forward to Saturday's game at Notre Dame Stadium, where as a freshman he passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 Trojans victory in 2009. "I just remember it being electric," he said of the environment, adding that it was not as hostile as Oregon's Autzen Stadium or Ohio State's Ohio Stadium.

USC's passing attack has thrived as quarterback Matt Barkley and receiver Robert Woods break or flirt with records seemingly every game. But what of the running game? USC ranks 71st among 120 major-college teams, averaging 136.6 yards a game. "It's just been very up and down," Coach Lane Kiffin said Monday. "Not near enough explosive plays. " USC has passed for 14 touchdowns and rushed for four. Marc Tyler is entrenched as the starter, but the coaching staff has not settled on a consistent complement.

Marc Tyler was prepared for the game, if not the workload. The tailback's 24-carry, 113-yard rushing performance in USC's victory over Utah last week was more than he anticipated. Much more. "I didn't think I was going to get the ball 24 times," Tyler said Tuesday. Tyler, suspended for the opener against Minnesota, said he suffered thigh bruises in each leg during the Trojans' 23-14 victory. But the fifth-year senior took first-team snaps in drills. "[Monday]

Matt Barkley went through most of Saturday's practice and scrimmage at the Coliseum with a camera mounted on the front of his helmet. The intent was to give fans a point-of-view experience through the eyes of USC's junior quarterback. "Hopefully, they got some good shots out of it," Barkley said. New York Jets' Mark Sanchez addresses USC football team before practice Video editors will no doubt spend much of their time culling through footage of receiver Robert Woods , as Barkley continuously looked for the sophomore in drills and during an 86-play scrimmage.

USC knows all about Minnesota's MarQueis Gray . Last season, the 6-foot-4 Gray caught four passes, including a touchdown, in the Golden Gophers' loss to the Trojans at Minneapolis. But that game tape won't do USC much good as the Trojans prepare for Saturday's opener at the Coliseum. Gray, a 240-pound junior, has been moved to quarterback by first-year Coach Jerry Kill . Gray has not played the position regularly since he was in high school in Indianapolis.

Robert Woods felt as if he was in sync with quarterback Matt Barkley during a record-setting, 17-reception performance in USC's season opening victory over Minnesota. Afterward, he also felt sore. "That was like three games of catches," he said Wednesday. "Three games of hits. " To preserve the sophomore receiver, USC Coach Lane Kiffin plans to rest Woods during Thursday practices. Woods does not favor the idea. He prefers being in the huddle as the Trojans prepare for Saturday's inaugural Pacific 12 Conference game against Utah at the Coliseum.

Lane Kiffin seemed a ridiculous hire. What school facing severe sanctions hires a coach facing sanctions at Tennessee? It smacked of being a desperate act of an imperiled athletic director, Mike Garrett, to hold together the vestiges of a bygone era before Garrett was gone. Kiffin, a piece of Pete Carroll's glory years, was an obvious, selfish, short-term fix to keep a recruiting class from bailing. Never mind that it worked. USC has been able to forestall a calamity greater than the calamity of going 8-5. The Trojans proactively hoarded talent ahead of impending NCAA sanctions and are in such decent shape entering 2011 that they've been picked to win a Pac-12 South division they aren't, technically, allowed to win. The real pain starts next year, when USC loses 10 scholarships a year for three seasons.

Monte Kiffin , USC's assistant head coach for defense, grinned when he saw reporters heading his way after practice Tuesday. Trojans fans are atwitter about major defensive breakdowns in the last two games, but Kiffin cautioned that things are not as dire as some believe. Arizona State scored 43 points in a victory over USC. The Trojans surrendered 554 yards and 37 first downs in a 48-41 victory Saturday over Arizona. "We're better than maybe it would look like," Kiffin said.

Rhett Ellison is a team captain and one of USC's more versatile players. The senior started at tight end in 2010 but was moved to fullback this season. Through two games, however, USC Coach Lane Kiffin seemed apprehensive about calling his number. Ellison finally had a larger role in USC's 38-17 victory over Syracuse on Saturday night at the Coliseum. Ellison caught five passes for 31 yards, including a five-yard touchdown play in the first quarter that helped the Trojans overcome a 3-0 deficit.