USC could be without wide receiver Zachariah Branch for Saturday's showdown against Notre Dame.
Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Branch is a game-time decision as he deals with an undisclosed injury.
Branch was one of the top recruits in head coach Lincoln Riley's 2023 freshman class. He was a 5-star prospect and No. 7 overall player coming out of Bishop Gorman High School, per 247Sports.
The early returns for Branch have been very promising with 13 receptions for 178 yards. He accounted for four touchdowns in his first three games, including two receiving and two on special teams.
An injury has kept Branch out of USC's wins over Colorado and Arizona in the past two weeks. Riley has been vague about the nature of Branch's injury, though he told reporters earlier this week the Las Vegas native is "progressing" despite not being able to practice in full.
"He still hasn't been a full participant yet. I do think he's making progress. We'll kind of watch and see. He's going to need to continue to make some jumps here to be ready for us, so hopefully he can continue to progress over the next few days. He's at a better place than he was last week, but he's not able to do everything yet. He's eager, but we obviously want to be smart and make sure that we turn him loose at the right time."
Thamel noted Branch did make the trip to South Bend with his teammates, but an official decision on his status will be made during pregame warmups.
The No. 10 Trojans are off to a 6-0 start, but they have dropped in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings in each of the past three weeks because of close calls against unranked competition. The defense has allowed more than 40 points in each of the past two games.
Saturday will be USC's first game against a ranked opponent. The 21st-ranked Fighting Irish have lost two of their last three games, including a 33-20 defeat at Louisville in which the offense turned the ball over five times.
USC defeated Notre Dame, 38-27, at the Coliseum last season.
