COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two games into his college football career, 19-year-old quarterback Matt Barkley already has a place in Southern California lore.

Three seasons into his USC career, Joe McKnight can now claim a spot with the great runners at Tailback U.

The freshman phenom and the shifty tailback made big play after big play, and Stafon Johnson capped one of the great drives in USC’s storied history with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:05 left to give the third-ranked Trojans an 18-15 victory against No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday night.

“We’re Trojans. That’s what we do,” Barkley said. “This is what we dreamed of, coming back like this.

“Doesn’t matter where we are in the score. We found a way. I love this.”

For the Buckeyes (1-1), it was another big-game disappointment, maybe the toughest one yet. Ohio State has now lost six straight against top-five teams, including two national title games and last season’s 35-3 loss to USC in Los Angeles.

For the Trojans (2-0), it was their 10th straight victory against the Big Ten. None was tougher — and none was likely more satisfying for Pete Carroll’s team.

“I think it’s a beautiful statement for our whole team,” the coach said. “It was really a great job by a lot of guys.”

The official stats will call it a 14-play, 86-yard drive, but it really started with USC at its own 5, facing a second-and-19 with 6:09 left in the game.

Suddenly, an offense stymied and held scoreless all second half by a hard-charging Ohio State defense came alive.

“He was scared, really,” McKnight said with a laugh about his quarterback. “No, he came in with the same composure he had the whole game. He was calm. He made plays.”

So did McKnight.

First he darted for 11 yards. Then it was Barkley to McKnight, who weaved for 21 more on third-and-8.

When Barkley threw a strike over the middle to Anthony McCoy for 26 to get USC to the Ohio State 37, the record crowd of more than 106,000 at Ohio Stadium started to grow uneasy.

Barkley converted a fourth-and-short with a sneak. McKnight, so often compared to USC Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, ran three times, showing some power to go with all those moves and got USC inside the 10. Another sneak by Barkley got it to first-and-goal.

Then Johnson swept around right end, going in untouched, pointing toward the USC section as he crossed the goal line. It was the only part of the huge crowd cheering. The rest?

“When we punched it in there it was good to hear the silence,” Barkley said.

Barkley and McKnight hooked up one more time, appropriately, for a 2-point conversion that meant an Ohio State field goal would only force overtime.

But with no timeouts left, Terrelle Pryor and the Buckeyes’ offense went nowhere with their last chance.

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“You need to score more than five points in the second half, and they came up with plays on that last drive they needed to and so they go home with the spoils,” coach Jim Tressel said.

Just when it looked as if the Buckeyes would shake their big-game bugaboos, they’ll now face more questions about their inability to beat the very best. Just when it looked as if Big Ten pride would be restored — at least a little — the league took another high-profile hit.

“It’s very frustrating, but we knew eventually they’d make plays,” said linebacker Brian Rolle, part of a unit that was stellar for 54 minutes. “The last drive was heartbreaking. Give McKnight lots of credit on that last drive, he was good.

“The last drive was definitely, you go back and you think about, and you think about how close you came to winning.”

McKnight ran for 60 yards and had 45 receiving, modest numbers but most of them came at the most crucial time.

Barkley finished 14 for 31 for 195 yards with an interception. He was sacked twice and took some shots, but just a few days removed from his 19th birthday, he already has a drive that could define his career. Matt Leinart and Carson Palmer couldn’t have done better.

“He’s not 19,” Carroll said. “He’s our quarterback. I’m not worried about how old he is. Numbers mean nothing.”