Travis Dye being unable to play vs UCLA and Notre Dame reminds us: life isn’t fair
Injuries in sports carry immense physical pain, but the anguish is what cuts deeper than any broken bone.
Travis Dye loves this team, and this team loves him right back. Dye embraced being a USC Trojan. He loved everything about playing for Lincoln Riley and with this band of brothers. Being in Southern California mattered to him, and his teammates helped make him feel at home. Several leaders are highly respected in the Trojans’ locker room, and Dye is at the very top of the list.
You saw teammates come by and tap him on the shoulder. You saw the whole USC team empty the sidelines to come out on the field and let him personally know he was being prayed for.
That doesn’t happen with most football players.
Travis Dye is a special one, and there’s so much to lament about the fact that he won’t play against UCLA or Notre Dame:
PRIME PLAYER
Dye isn’t just a good player, he’s a clutch player. He makes important plays in important moments. He answers the call when a team and an offense need him the most.
SHORT YARDAGE
Dye is money in the bank on 3rd and 2 or 4th and 1. USC figures to miss that against UCLA and Notre Dame.
Quite a lot.
PASS PROTECTION
Dye is a really good helper for Caleb Williams in pass protection, picking up blitzers and sufficiently slowing the pass rush. This is one reason he got a lot more playing time than Austin Jones this season.
HITTING THE GAP
Dye has been so good all season at hitting the first hole quickly and decisively. Raleek Brown will learn how to do this in time. Dye shows how it’s done.
OUT OF THE BACKFIELD
Dye as a receiver is a lethal weapon. Oregon used him a lot in this capacity, and that ability never went away.
LOCKER ROOM
Dye came to USC as a new face on the roster, but everyone instantly looked up to him and saw that he was interested in making the team and the program better. That’s not something you can fake. Dye is a first-class leader, and in that respect, he can still contribute to the Trojans the next two weeks.
NOT CARING ABOUT STATS
Dye did not have huge stat lines in some of USC’s early-season games. It didn’t matter to him. The team’s result and the development of all the players counted the most. Players and coaches both saw that.
TOUGHNESS
Dye was visibly wincing in pain in early-season games, but he stayed on the field and made big contributions anyway. He’s not a finesse running back.
EPIC TD RUN
THE VIDEO
Another look at that unstoppable TD run by Travis Dye 🔥
cc: @uscfb pic.twitter.com/wl2WI0AkPe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2022
MENTOR
The guidance Dye has given to Raleek Brown could bear fruit down the line. Brown did make some big splash plays against Colorado on Friday night. Brown will be needed more than ever with Dye out against UCLA and Notre Dame.
KNOWLEDGE
Coming from Oregon, Dye had a lot of knowledge about other Pac-12 teams and players and their tendencies. That certainly came in handy in behind-the-scenes ways.
NOT GETTING IN THE WAY
With Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, and other stars on this USC offense, Dye could have insisted that his mouth was fed … but that never happened and has never been an issue. When a lot of talented players coexist on the same roster, it’s easy for guys to get greedy or insist on their own prominence. Dye got out of the way and let other stars shine.
Again, teammates notice that kind of thing.
Dye is the elder statesman. He never tried to overshadow or eclipse Caleb Williams or the other USC offensive stars.
DONE FOR THE YEAR
Lincoln Riley on Travis Dye’s injury: “It shook us all a little bit… It sucks, there’s no other way to put it.”
Riley talking about Dye’s college football career and 2022 Trojans season in the past tense.
“We don’t expect that he’ll play again this year.”
— Austin Green (@AustinGreen44) November 12, 2022
TEAMMATE
Tahj Washington said Travis Dye spoke to the offense at halftime despite having suffered a devastating injury. #USC
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) November 12, 2022
TRUTH
Austin Jones on Travis Dye's injury on #USC's radio show:
"He's irreplaceable."
— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) November 12, 2022
EXTENDED REMARKS
Lincoln Riley addresses the season-ending injury to running back and #USC team leader Travis Dye. No specific diagnosis shared, but Riley confirmed the next football game Dye plays in will be in the NFL, though he'll of course be around the Trojans the rest of the way. pic.twitter.com/MRghsP6EV2
— Ryan Young (@RyanYoungRivals) November 12, 2022
NO FUMBLES
If tonight's injury is as bad as we fear it might be, Travis Dye will have finished his brief SC career with 8 straight games with a TD and not a single fumble. #FightOnTravis #USC https://t.co/CHSvqp02Ep
— Troy Wullbrandt🍊 (@Troy_ROTK) November 12, 2022
MORE FROM AUSTIN JONES
Austin Jones on Travis Dye: "That's my dog, man. It really took a toll on me throughout the game. After I scored I had to throw up the 2-6 for him because I love that dude, for real. To see a great leader, a great person, a great player go out like that, it definitely hurts."
— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) November 12, 2022
MORE FROM LINCOLN RILEY
More Lincoln Riley on Travis Dye: "Really important to just the competitive nature, and the way we practice and the energy. He was one of the key cogs in this team making some progress there. And I think we all know that that was something that had to happen here."
— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) November 12, 2022
