With hopes of making it into the College Football Playoff, the USC Trojans suffered a major setback. Running back Travis Dye is likely out of the season after an apparent lower leg injury on Friday in the 55-17 win over Colorado, USC football head coach Lincoln Riley said.
Dye was carted off the field after his left leg seemingly got twisted underneath his body in the first half as he was tackled. The medical team then placed him in an air cast and lifted him onto a cart. The entire USC team and some Colorado players showed their support as fans across the stadium applauded Dye.
Both teams show support for Travis Dye as he is carted off the field due to injury đ pic.twitter.com/dLD2f4DxcN
â FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 12, 2022
The senior was one of the cornerstones of USC's offense. A transfer from Oregon, Dye has 145 carries this season for a total of 884 yards and nine touchdowns. He remains the team leader in all three categories. He also added 194 receiving yards on 20 catches.
Without Dye, Riley will need to find other weapons to fill the running back's contributions on the offense. If USC really wants to stay alive in the CFP battle, it needs to see more from some players. With that being said, here are three USC football players who must step up after Travis Dye's injury.
Austin Jones
The RB2 on the roster, Austin Jones should take Dye's responsibilities from now on. The transfer from Stanford has the second-best running back numbers for USC, behind Dye in all of them.
Jones has 52 carries for 335 yards and three touchdowns. His best performance came against Fresno State, where he had 12 carries for a total of 110 yards, both season highs. He also scored his most recent touchdown in that game.
Following Dye's injury on Friday, Jones already saw his role increase. He carried the ball 11 times for 74 yards, both his second-highest marks of the season. He ended up scoring on a 12-yard reception.
Jones should become one of the main options on USC's offense and should be a starter against UCLA on Saturday.
Raleek Brown
Since Jones should be RB1, Raleek Brown will likely be the main running back off the bench for USC football. So far in 2022, the freshman has 31 carries for 148 yards and one score on the ground. He also has seven receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Versus the Buffaloes, Brown had his best game in college with seven carries for 52 yards. He then added 38 yards through the air and scored a touchdown.
He had six games this season with five or fewer rush attempts. Now, without Dye, Brown should see his participation increase significantly.
Darwin Barlow
Another running back who should earn more snaps following Dye's injury is Darwin Barlow. The junior had limited snaps across the first 10 games, but he will most certainly see more action as Dye's role could be divided by the running back group.
Barlow only appeared in three games this year. He only has 12 rush attempts and 74 yards but managed to score twice, including the team's seventh and final touchdown against Colorado last week.
While he did not have many chances this season, Barlow has impressed when he has the ball. As Jones and Dye are potentially in their last college seasons, Barlow could become an important piece of Riley's system in the 2023 season.
Caleb Williams
Without Dye, Caleb Williams should be under even more pressure and expectations. The Heisman contender will most likely receive more attention as the running game will potentially decrease a bit.
In 2022, the USC football quarterback has completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,010 yards and impressive 31 touchdowns against just two interceptions. Perhaps most importantly under the circumstances, Williams rushed 80 times for a total of 283 yards and six scores.
For his career at USC, Williams has 159 carries for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns. His dual-threat abilities will most certainly be more utilized. Otherwise, the Trojans will rely on second or third-string running backs to complete the job, or even focus just on the passing game. While Williams' passing has been elite so far this season, focusing solely on this feature could make opponents more prepared as USC will only have one trick under its sleeve.
According to FanDuel, Williams has the fifth-best odds of winning the Heisman at +1200. He is ahead of other quarterbacks such as LSU's Jayden Daniels, Oregon's Bo Nix and reigning winner Alabama's Bryce Young.
This should be Williams' biggest chance of winning the award. If he steps up without one of his best offensive teammates, voters should take a special look at his season. Should the Trojans win the Pac-12 without Dye, Williams' Heisman stock will likely skyrocket. That means that not only he needs to continue playing at a high level, but he needs to take it to the next level.
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