Try GOLD - Free
Next-man up mentality for the undermanned USC backfield
Los Angeles Times
|October 15, 2025
With top two backs out, Trojans turn to Miller and Jackson against stingy Irish.

WAYMOND JORDAN (2) will be out four to six weeks after undergoing surgery for an ankle injury.
(MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ Associated Press)
His top two running backs had just been carted up the Coliseum tunnel, a nightmare scenario for a team that finally found its groove on the ground, when coach Lincoln Riley was asked at halftime how USC would move forward without the bulk of its backfield.
He grinned.
“I might have to carry the ball some,” Riley quipped during NBC's broadcast.
USC managed to make it through a win over Michigan without much in the way of reinforcements at running back. But with its backfield depth decimated — and the toughest stretch of the Trojans’ schedule ahead — Riley and his staff will have to figure out how to proceed starting Saturday at Notre Dame.
USC will be without leading rusher Waymond Jordan for at least a month after he injured his ankle during the second quarter Saturday. Jordan, who's currently third in the Big Ten in rushing, underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
That timeline, if it holds, would put Jordan on path for a potential return before the Trojans’ critical trip to Oregon, when they would presumably need him most.
This story is from the October 15, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times
'Les Miz' celebrates 40 at the Pantages
As Victor Hugo's theatrical tearjerker stops in L.A., so do II tractor trailers full of set pieces, costumes, wigs and more
5 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Wolf Alice’s new confidence shows in ‘Clearing’
U.K. quartet’s latest studio album reflects their growth as writers as well as performers.
4 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Man pleads guilty in attack on Pa. governor
A man who scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to ignite the occupied Pennsylvania governor's mansion pleaded guilty Tuesday to the attempted murder of Gov. Josh Shapiro and other charges.
3 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Trump, Israeli ally diverge on peace prospects
President Trump is declaring Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip over and has already barreled ahead toward far larger goals — arguing that the fragile ceasefire his administration helped broker is a chance to bring a lasting peace to the greater Middle East.
4 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
NASA's JPL lays off 550 employees in latest round of cuts
Morale is worst in decades, one worker says. More budget uncertainty is feared.
2 mins
October 15, 2025
Los Angeles Times
City planners support $2-billion project in Skid Row
A proposed mega-development in downtown Los Angeles, which would replace a cold storage facility with a $2-billion residential and commercial complex, cleared a major hurdle last week when the city Planning Commission backed it.
2 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Ballot design prompts theories that election is rigged
Republicans claim that holes in the mail-in envelope reveal how people voted on Prop. 50. California’s secretary of state tries to ‘set the record straight.’
3 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Hurling into history after double-play havoc
Snell enters Dodgers playoff lore as L.A. survives near disaster
6 mins
October 15, 2025
Los Angeles Times
L.A. stages 'Les Miz' milestone
Rehberger takes out a tube of mascara and begins brushing it on his beard for color, smiling as he does so.
3 mins
October 15, 2025

Los Angeles Times
Down year finally is looking up for Treinen with a save in Game 1
Dodgers reliever gets out of bases-loaded jam and ends opener with strikeout in a welcome turnaround.
3 mins
October 15, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size