Can USC overcome injury woes in Week 6 vs. Minnesota?

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.

Starting safety Akili Arnold missed the Wisconsin game as well. Although reporting has revealed that Arnold was "banged up" in the Michigan game, the exact nature of his condition has not been disclosed. A critical member of the improved USC defense, Arnold was designated by defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn as the Trojans defender to wear the green dot on his helmet, signifying that he is the lone USC defensive player equipped with in-helmet communication. In his first three games this season, Arnold had 14 tackles, a half sack, and a pass deflection. He returned to practice this week , albeit without pads.

Near the end of USC's victory over Wisconsin, starting linebacker Eric Gentry suffered a neck injury. The unique  6-foot-6 LB is USC's leading tackler this season with 30, including six tackles for loss and two sacks. He has also forced a fumble. On Thursday, Riley talked to reporters about the potential impact if Gentry is unavailable to suit up against Minnesota:

"Yeah, Eric is, you know — he’s a very good player. It changes some things — certainly not everything. I mean there’s maybe a few things that, you know, we might not do with Eric not there. There’s maybe a few things, with the other skillsets out there, that we might do more. So, I mean, I’d still venture to say, you know, 80 percent to 90 percent of what we’re going to do, we’re probably going to do whether he’s there or not. We do have a lot of confidence in the other guys in those positions."

Starting tight end Lake McRee was hurt in the Michigan game, suffering a knee injury on a low hit. The Trojans initially feared it was a season-ending injury but received good news that he will return later this year. He will not play against Minnesota.