Tre Madden to miss the Holiday Bowl after knee surgery

The USC Trojans will be without senior running back Tre Madden in the Holiday Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers.

USC Trojans running back Tre Madden will not play in the Holiday Bowl after undergoing season-ending knee surgery, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.

Madden played through knee soreness for the latter part of the season and underwent the surgery last week. . The Trojans will now prepare to play the Wisconsin Badgers on Dec. 30 in San Diego without their third-leading rusher.

After entering the year with expectations of being USC’s primary tailback, that knee injury certainly slowed Madden down this season. The fifth-year senior ran the ball 85 times for 452 yards and five touchdowns this season with the Trojans. Madden was also on of USC’s better pass-catching backs this year, hauling in 17 receptions, including a touchdown.

While Madden averaged a healthy 5.2 yards per carry on 223 attempts in his time at USC, his career was slowed by injuries, including a torn ACL in 2012. Madden has received a some NFL buzz during his college career, but making the next level is going to be very difficult following all the injury problems.

Madden’s absence in the Holiday Bowl is going to make USC’s task a little tougher. Wisconsin has one of the best defenses in the entire country that is very good at stopping the run. The Trojans have been at their best this season when they have ran the ball effectively and will need to continue to do so in the bowl game, so interim coach Clay Helton will have to find a way to move the ball on the Badgers.

Fortunately for the Trojans, running back is one of the positions where they have some depth. Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis were both productive enough to carry the load during the regular season. Freshman Dominic Davis could also move up the depth chart with Madden out, although he is well behind the first two.

Jones II has been particularly impressive this season to emerge as USC’s primary running back of the present and future. The freshman carried the ball 145 times for 940 yards this season, averaging 6.5 yards per attempt.

If the Trojans are going to crack Wisconsin’s defense, they are going to need a big performance out of Jones. Justin Davis is a much better pass-catching back than Jones and will also play an important role in the Holiday Bowl.