The USC football team is second place in the Pac-12 in what should be the conference's final year as we know it. Trojans coach Lincoln Riley has led USC football to a 7-2 record overall, 5-1 in the league.

Recent media voices have stated that the struggles could be good for Caleb Williams in a roundabout way. Riley revealed his true feelings on the team's showdown with Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies recently.

On Halloween night, reporter Ryan Kartje revealed the news on safety Zion Branch, and it's bad news for USC football fans.

Branch is a freshman with prototypical size and skills for the position. At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, the Las Vegas, Nevada raised newcomer has 15 solo tackles and one forced fumble on the season. He has 22 total tackles and had a season-high six stops in USC football's marquee matchup with the Utah Utes earlier this season.

According to Coach Riley, he had an undisclosed “procedure” that led to the news.

The Trojans are ranked far behind Pac-12 contemporaries the Oregon Ducks and Saturday's opponent the Huskies. They are most likely out of the College Football Playoff race, but there's still time to salvage the season and perhaps secure the team's first conference championship since 2017 and its third since 2008.

The USC football team's star has rise due to the play of Williams, last year's Heisman Trophy winner. Still, Riley's squad has a long way to go to live up to the championship pedigree of the 2017 team, led by QB Sam Darnold, Coach Clay Helton and others.

Saturday's game vs. Washington kicks off at 7:30 p.m. in the City of Angels.