USC's Woods again jolts Gophers

LOS ANGELES - For the second consecutive season, yet in a completely different fashion, Robert Woods played a pivotal role for Southern California against Minnesota.

Last year, after the Gophers took a 14-13 third-quarter lead, Woods returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to ignite a rally that gave the Trojans a 32-21 victory.

On Saturday, Woods set one school single-game record for receptions and tied another for touchdown catches as USC won its season opener 19-17.

The sophomore caught 17 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns to surpass Johnnie Morton's 18-year-old school standard for most receptions in one game: 15.

USC coach Lane Kiffin believed before the game that Woods could accomplish something special.

"We talked about it [Friday] night in the meetings," Kiffin said. "I told Robert what the record was. It's time to break it. It's been there for a long time."

Woods also returned three kickoffs for 73 yards. His longest return, 35 yards, might have resulted in a touchdown had Gophers kicker Chris Hawthorne not tackled him.

In high school, Woods' speed helped him win not only a California state football championship as a senior. He used it to earn two state track titles in the 400-meter and 1,600-meter relays as an anchor.

Yet speed might not be Woods' biggest asset.

"He's a smart, cerebral player who has mastered the playbook," Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley said. "He knows defenses, knows where to be and knows how to get open."

Woods demonstrated that ability by playing in both wide and slot positions and running various routes.

"He's mastering all the positions," Kiffin said. "The only way you can catch 17 balls is if you line up in a bunch of different spots. They did try to take him away in the second half so we had to keep him moving around.

The Gophers' coverage helped.

"They started off playing 8 yards deep," Woods said. "The quick pass was there, and I was able to capitalize on it."

So did Barkley.

"We just had a great connection early on," said Woods, who worked with Barkley extensively during the summer on "knowing what he was thinking, [on] deep balls."