The No. 5 USC Trojans will be without three key players when they visit the California Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley.
Sam Darnold and the USC Trojans’ first road test of the season just got a little more challenging with some late injury news.
No. 5 USC will be without running back Ronald Jones, wide receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. and linebacker Porter Gustin when they take on the California Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, adding to an already lengthy injury reports. All three players did not travel with the team due to injury, according to Joey Kaufman of the Orange County Register.
A USC spokesman said Ronald Jones, Steven Mitchell and Porter Gustin did not travel with the team to Berkeley.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) September 23, 2017
The most important loss for the Trojans will likely be Jones, who was expected to play through an ankle injury for much of the week before the final report came out on Saturday. Jones rushed for over 2,000 combined yards in his first two years at USC and has 59 carries for 322 yards and five touchdowns already in 2017.
Mitchell Jr. has missed the entire week of practice due to a groin injury. The senior has emerged as one of Darnold’s favorite targets outside of Deontay Burnett with 14 catches for 223 yards and two scores so far.
Gustin required surgery after fracturing his right big toe against Stanford earlier in September and recently suffered an additional biceps injury. With injuries on the defensive side piling up, the Trojans will sorely miss Gustin, who has 15 tackles and three sacks in 2017.
Apart from a blowout victory over Stanford, USC hasn’t been particularly convincing during its 3-0 start, as it had to battle Western Michigan until the fourth quarter and required double overtime to take down Texas. Clay Helton may be more concerned about the two missing offensive stars for now after the Trojans struggled to move the ball against a shaky Longhorns defense.
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California was expected to be near the bottom of the Pac-12 under first year head coach Justin Wilcox, but has been sneaky good at 3-0 and could challenge the beat up Trojans. The Golden Bears forced a USC three-and-out before kicking a field goal for a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter.