Our original recap and discussion of this week's much-discussed (and over-hyped) QB controversy appears below.

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Talk radio and the Internet have provided time and space for a myriad of news and sports topics to be discussed. However, all that time and space set aside for broadcasts and articles necessitates filling it, often times with mundane, overblown topics. 

This weeks' sports "Let's all question and shout" topic in Southern California is the status of USC's freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. 

Barkley suffered a bone bruise to his right shoulder in Saturday's 18-15 come from behind victory over Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Trojans are taking precautions with their young quarterback. Given that it is an injury to his throwing shoulder, caution might be the best option for USC. 

Head coach Pete Carroll has been dodging question about his quarterback since the end of Saturday's game. At Tuesday's press conference he laid out what he expected before naming a starting quarterback.

"Every situation has its own set of circumstances in making the decision," he said.
"In this case, you know, Matt's got to be able to throw the football and
be all right doing that."

L.A. Times reporter Gary Klein claimed in Thursday's paper that back-up quarterback Aaron Corp, who was slated to start the season before a leg injury gave Barkley the chance to win the job, is on track to start Saturday's game.

"Unless Barkley makes an improbable recovery from a bone bruise," wrote Klein, "Corp is
on track to be under center when the Trojans open Pacific 10 Conference
play on Saturday at Washington."

Carroll relayed confidence in starting Corp if Barkley is not ready to play.

"He's taken over just like he had done in the spring time," Carroll said of Corp, "and so it feels comfortable to us having him get ready."

Barkley took snaps Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but only handed the ball off, leaving Corp to run the first team offense.

Before Thursday's practice Carroll didn't sound close to selecting his starting quarterback.
 
"I don't feel any pressure at all to make this decision," Carroll told the L.A. Times. "We're going to take as much time as we need."

 Barkley threw passes at practice on Thursday, but after Carroll said he was still undecided. 

The decision most likely won't come until right before game time. The team reports that it could take until then to know if Barkley is healthy enough to play. 

Even if they did make a decision on who will start, don't expect any announcement of the decision before the game. Rarely will a football coach pass up a chance to toy with his opponent. The "Barkley Question" gives one more thing for the Washington Huskies and head coach Steve Sarkisian to plan for. As a former USC coordinator, Sarkisian has an advantage over most coaches when it comes to preparing a game plan to stop the Trojan offense.

There are distinct differences in Barkley and Corps' styles.  Barkley is the strong-armed pocket passer and Corp is a mobile runner. By playing cat-and-mouse Carroll adds one more wrinkle for Sarkisian to scout. 

At this point it makes no sense for Carroll and the Trojans to announce a starter. They might know who it is, they might even tell their quarterbacks who will lead the way Saturday. But they shouldn't give Washington the advantage of knowing who to prepare for.

Josh Moser contributed to this report.