Next-man up mentality for the undermanned USC backfield

With top two backs out, Trojans turn to Miller and Jackson against stingy Irish.

- BY RYAN KARTJE

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.