USC football’s blowout win Friday night did not come without a cost.
Redshirt senior running back Travis Dye was carted off the field in the second quarter with a lower leg injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said after the 55-17 win over Colorado.
Dye, No. 8 USC’s leading rusher, took a handoff late in the first half and got his left leg twisted underneath him on the tackle. He remained down on the field and eventually had an air cast placed on his leg before he was carted off, with his teammates crowding around him.
“It’s tough,” Riley told reporters. “It shook us all a little bit. He’s such an emotional leader. It sucks. No other way to put it.”
After spending his first four years at Oregon, Dye transferred to USC and became the Pac-12’s second-leading rusher entering this week. Through 10 games, Dye had 145 carries for 884 yards and nine touchdowns.
Dye played a key role in the Trojans’ 9-1 record to date, but they will be without him for the rest of the season, which finishes with showdowns against No. 9 UCLA and No. 20 Notre Dame, plus a possible Pac-12 Championship game.
“It’s nothing long-term in terms of his future,” Riley said. “He’s going to be playing on an NFL team next year and probably playing very well. I just told him I appreciated him. It’s just an emotional thing, especially one like that. It’s pretty serious. He’s a senior right here at the end and he’s been critical to this team being 9-1 and in an awesome position. It breaks your heart.”
In Dye’s absence, Austin Jones took 11 carries for 74 yards.
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