Ranked No. 11, the USC Trojans look to improve to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference when they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 7:30 p.m. ET in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Although Southern California is favored by 8.5 points, the Trojans and Golden Gophers appear evenly matched by a tangible measuring stick: The teams played the Michigan Wolverines in consecutive weeks at the Big House and lost by the same score — 27-24.
USC and Minnesota have played one another eight times, meeting first in 1953. The Trojans lead the all-time series 6-1-1.
Heading into this weekend’s matchup, USC is confronting several injury issues. USC’s official injury report for the Minnesota game has yet to be released but will be promulgated sometime before kickoff.
Makai Lemon, starting sophomore wide receiver, missed the Wisconsin game in Week 5 after being taken away by ambulance in the first quarter of the loss to Michigan. In the words of coach Lincoln Riley, Lemon suffered a “whiplash” injury due to a blindside hit on a punt play. Before his injury, Lemon had 45 receiving yards and one touchdown. He returned to practice in full pads this week, and the Trojans are hopeful he will be available in the contest with the Golden Gophers.
