USC Trojans, Wisconsin Badgers Injury Update: Lake McRee, Akili Arnold, Makai Lemon, Tyler Van Dyke

The No. 13 USC Trojans will host the Wisconsin Badgers in their Big Ten conference home opener on Saturday, Sept. 28.

The game is a sell out and the stakes are high for the 2-1 Trojans, who will likely be missing a few key players due to injury.

USC quarterback Miller Moss and coach Lincoln Riley are looking to bounce back and make a statement that they belong in the College Football Playoff discussion after losing to the Michigan Wolverines in Week 4.

Wisconsin hopes to adjust after the Badgers lost their starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season ending knee injury in their loss to Alabama. Quarterback Braedyn Locke will start in his place. The Badgers will also be without defensive lineman James Thompson Jr. – who is out for the season with an upper body injury.

What is the latest injury update on USC tight end Lake McRee, safety Akili Arnold and receiver Makai Lemon?

The good news on McRee’s injury is that it is not season-ending, as initially feared.

“Lake’s a great player,” said Riley. “Hate not to have him here right away but we’ll get him back soon.”

McRee went down with a knee injury after taking a low hit from Michigan cornerback Jyaire Hill in the third quarter last Saturday. McRee is expected to return at some point this season, but his status for Wisconsin is questionable.

The safety Arnold got banged up against Michigan but his availability looks promising.

“He’s been limited early this week, but hopeful to have him,” Riley said about Arnold’s availability for the game vs. Wisconsin Badgers.

A very scary moment in Week 4 – Lemon had to take an ambulance to the University of Michigan hospital after suffering an apparent head injury in the first quarter against the Wolverines. Lemon was injured on punt coverage, when he suffered a nasty hit. He was able to walk off the field but appeared shaken up.

“He’s doing good,” Riley said on Monday. “He’s rebounded back well, I think as good as you could possibly hope for with that scary of a situation… You obviously never want to see that. Thankfully bounced back well, was able to fly home with us that night and is doing very well.”

Lemon is a sophomore for USC and has four receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown in the Trojans’ first two games. Last season, Lemon played both wide receiver and cornerback. On offense, he recorded six receptions for 88 yards (14.7 avg.) with a long of 40 yards. He also recorded one tackle.

Every Big Ten team is required to submit an official injury report two hours before kickoff and the Trojans have a relatively clean bill of health as they enter the game vs. the Badgers.

Will update with the official report.

The Badgers face the tough task of defending Moss and his offensive weapons. Moss is off to a hot start, throwing for 890 yards, five touchdowns and just one pick through three games. Moss leads a USC passing offense that ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference (318.7). Keep an eye on running back Woody Marks, who has 271 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. 

HOW TO WATCH

USC will host the Wisconsin Badgers in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 12:30 p.m. PT. on Saturday, September 28th. The TV broadcast will be on CBS.

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