LOS ANGELES - Stanford's Andrew Luck will finish just ahead of Southern California's Matt Barkley in just about every football metric that counts if both quarterbacks head to the NFL next year.
The Pac-12 standings, head-to-head victories, Heisman Trophy voting, pro draft boards - Barkley realizes he'll probably always be looking up at Luck.
Barkley won't feel second-best if his 20th-ranked Trojans can figure out some way tonight to stop the juggernaut that's been built around his Northern California counterpart.
Two of the nation's top quarterbacks face each other for the third time in their college careers when No. 4 Stanford (7-0, 5-0 Pac-12) looks to extend its 15-game winning streak with a third straight victory at the Coliseum over USC (6-1, 3-1).
Luck and Barkley have only a passing acquaintance, seeing each other a few times off the gridiron at media events, so there's hardly a personal rivalry. What's personal to Barkley is the feeling he gets when he thinks about Stanford's two victories over the Trojans during his tenure - the first in a historic blowout in 2009, the second on a field goal as time expired last season.
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"I don't like the thought of losing or being embarrassed like that in my head," Barkley said. "I guess it's kind of a pride thing, wanting to prepare so well that that doesn't happen, so I don't have to go through that, don't have to face a loss like that. I think it picks up the intensity when we're preparing for a game if that's in my mind."
Luck left last season's victory over USC with more relief than excitement after engineering a last-minute drive to the decisive field goal. That victory was the start of Stanford's current winning streak, and the Cardinal hasn't even been in a tight spot since last November, winning a record 10 straight games by at least 25 points.
"He's a great guy, great football player," Luck said of Barkley. "It's fun to watch him play. I really do enjoy watching him play on TV. Except for this week, obviously."
In a measure of just how completely this rivalry has shifted in only two years, USC might even be proud if it's only able to end Stanford's streak of 25-point-plus victories - the longest such stretch by any school since at least the 1930s.
USC's dynasty might be dead, but the Trojans are quietly thriving in their new role as undermanned underdogs while navigating a half-decade of NCAA sanctions. After several unimpressive wins this season, they looked sharp in a 14-point victory at Notre Dame last week, capping a three-game winning streak.
Pac-12 standings
Pac-12 Overall
SOUTH W L W L
Arizona State 3 1 5 2
USC 3 1 6 1
UCLA 2 2 3 4
Arizona 1 4 2 5
Utah 0 4 3 4
Colorado 0 4 1 7
NORTH W L W L
Stanford 5 0 7 0
Oregon 4 0 6 1
Washington 3 1 5 2
Oregon State 2 2 2 5
California 1 3 4 3
Washington State 1 3 3 4
Today
Arizona at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Wash. St. at Oregon, noon
Colorado at ASU, 3:30 p.m.
California at UCLA, 4 p.m.
Oregon St. at Utah, 5 p.m.
Stanford at USC, 5 p.m.
