Is this the game that Barker really got injured in and not against Florida or NMSU? His performance in the 2nd half was so pitiful, but was comparable to how he played against Florida and NMSU.
Good question. Rumor is that Barker was injured late in the 2015 season, re-injured again in August, and re-injured again early in the NM State game. So he wasn't fully healthy at any point in September. But I don't think this is why Southern Miss beat us. Southern Miss won because they ran the football effectively against our defense, kept moving the chains, and dominated time of possession for the final 3 quarters of the game. Watching the game objectively, Southern Miss got burned over the top a couple of times in the 1st quarter, then made adjustments. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the other team when it is due. Look at the total offense and time of possession stats. We got physically beat at the line of scrimmage by an offensive coordinator who knew our weaknesses.