Here’s what USC QB Matt Barkley said about Arizona State All-American linebacker Vontaze Burfic last week:

“His switch is always on,” Barkley said. “And it’s not a good switch.”

Barkley, who has known Burfict since high school, added that he thought the Sun Devils’ star was a “dirty player.” Arizona State went on to paste USC, 43-22 Saturday night in Tempe, and Burfict intercepted a Barkley pass. Also, this iconic photo – maybe the best college football photo since Denard Robinson inadvertently struck the Heisman pose vs. Notre Dame last year – was snapped during the game.

Now that the dust has cleared, the Pac-12 announced it has reprimanded Barkley.

“All of our student-athletes must adhere to the Pac-12′s policies on sportsmanship and standards of conduct, which call for our student-athletes to treat opponents with respect and create and ensure a collegiate atmosphere in which to conduct competition,” Scott said. “In these circumstances, Mr. Barkley’s comments were a clear violation of conference rules and he is being appropriately reprimanded.”

Weak. Is the Pac-12 trying to silence harmless – and accurate – trash talk? That’s terrible. It’s too bad these two won’t play for the Pac-12 championship. They’ll probably be seen together next in April on stage during the first round of the NFL draft.

Previously: 2012 NFL Mock Draft
 Previously: College Football Preseason 2011 All-Junior Team
Previously: Things to File Away For Next Year’s NFL Draft: Arizona State’s Vontaze Burfict Punched Out a Teammate