Barkley plays through pain

LOS ANGELES – The first time Matt Barkley wound up and really let loose with a throw, the Southern California freshman felt sharp pain in his bruised right shoulder.

Just not enough pain to stop him from leading the 12th-ranked Trojans to a bounce-back victory.

“When I had to gun it, I did,” Barkley said. “It hurt, but whatever. It’s football.”

Barkley threw two long touchdown passes in 9 seconds during the first quarter on the way to 247 yards passing in USC’s win over Washington State.

“I knew I was going to play through whatever pain there was,” Barkley said.

“It felt good enough to get the job done. I felt a little limited in my arm strength, but I tried to gun it in when I needed to.”