Matt Deringer weighs in on Minnesota-USC

TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is the nicest place you can watch a game this side of Stanford Stadium. ... Robert Woods' kick return for a touchdown after Minnesota went ahead 14-13 in the third quarter reversed momentum, and was the Play of the Game. ... Woods, a track star in high school, is going to be a superstar in college. ... Matt Barkley, a superstar in high school, isn't shining too bright for me in college. ... Lane Kiffin needs to quit going for two when he deems the "matchups" favor it; John McKay did OK kicking extra points; Pete Carroll only went on the most successful run in school history adding extra points; going for two, and coming up short (like USC did again Saturday) is eventually going to cost the Trojans a game. It's stupid and unnecessary. Or compensating for a lack for insecurity and unnecessary. Either way, it's unnecessary. ... Jurrell Casey could win the Nagurski Award if he came back for his senior year, which I don't think he will. ... Casey's still one of - if not the best - defensive tackles in the nation right now. ... Minnesota lost in part because Tim Brewester insisted on running at the strength of the Trojans' team, Casey and the other defensive tackles. Jim Harbaugh and Chip Kelly won't make the same mistake. ... USC's receivers and running backs are as good as any in the nation. ... USC's secondary will get by at Washington State and at home versus Jake Locker and Washington. But the pass rush needs to step up if the Trojans are going to have a chance against Stanford and Oregon and Notre Dame. ... I want to see more of Allen Bradford, Dillon Baxter and Robert Woods. ... It was good to see Ed Orgeron chew out Hebron Fangupo after a personal foul turned what would have been 3rd-and-long into a first down. If I had one criticism of Pete Carroll the last five years, it's that he missed a Bad Cop. ... OK, if I had one more criticism of Pete Carroll the last five years, it's that USC's special teams were mediocre at best. New coach John Baxter, however, is changing that. ... Imperfections aside, USC football was a lot more fun with Carroll running the show. ... USC needs to win its appeal - what the new uptight attitude around campus and practice is about, I think - to have the scholarship restrictions cut from 30 over three years to 15. The Trojans need players, period, and miss the depth they've enjoyed in recent years. Linebacker (like 2008) and offensive line (like 2005) aren't what they used to be. ... If the Trojans don't stomp Washington State, they've got problems bigger than only having 67 scholarship players or going through the motions until the season starts in earnest. ...