The USC Trojans travel to Boulder Friday night to battle the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. USC (6-2, 3-2) is a heavy favorite to beat Colorado (1-8, 0-5), who has struggled in their first year in the Pac-12 Conference. Friday's keys to the game pretty much revolve around a trio of wide receivers from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California.
Sophomore wide receiver Paul Richardson has missed the last four games with a knee injury, but is expected to play Friday night for Colorado. Even though Richardson has played just five games this year, Richardson has made a significant impact for the Buffaloes. He set school records with 11 catches and 284 receiving yards on September 10 against the Cal Golden Bears.
Richardson has been a big play machine in his two years in Colorado, with six plays of 50 yards or more, including touchdowns of 78 and 66 yards this season. On the season, RIchardson has caught 29 passes for 474 touchdowns and five touchdowns, all in just five games.
For the Trojans, fellow Serra High graduates Robert Woods and Marqise Lee have been favorite targets of quarterback Matt Barkley this season. Through just eight games, Woods is already tied for fifth in USC school history with 81 catches in a single season:
| USC Single Season Pass Catching Leaders | |||||
| Player | Year | Games | Catches | Yards | TD |
| Keyshawn Johnson | 1995 | 12 | 102 | 1,434 | 7 |
| Mike Williams | 2003 | 13 | 95 | 1,314 | 16 |
| Dwayne Jarrett | 2005 | 13 | 91 | 1,274 | 16 |
| Johnnie Morton | 1993 | 13 | 88 | 1,520 | 14 |
| Robert Woods | 2011 | 8 | 81 | 991 | 9 |
| Mike Williams | 2002 | 13 | 81 | 1,265 | 14 |
Woods, Richardson, and USC freshman George Farmer were a scary trio of wide receivers for Serra High in 2009, and as pointed out by Jordan Moore of the USC Ripsit blog were so good that Lee was forced to shift to defense. Lee, now a freshman with the Trojans, is second on the team in catches (34), yards (534), and touchdowns (five). Lee led the team with 94 yards against Stanford, including a 28-yard touchdown. Lee has 355 yards receiving and three touchdowns in his last four games.
The bottom line is that Colorado has been getting torched all season, allowing an average of 38 points and 435 yards per game. The Buffaloes have allowed at least 31 points in eight of their nine games this season, including a total of 193 points over their last four games. Look for Barkley, Woods, and Lee to light up the scoreboard Friday night in Boulder.
For more on the Trojans, head over to Conquest Chronicles.