What was supposed to be a stress-free night for No. 8-ranked USC against a one-win Colorado team ended up dealing the Trojans a serious blow for the rest of the season.

Running back Travis Dye appeared to twist his left leg while being brought down to the ground awkwardly late in the first half. He immediately grabbed his leg and remained down on the field, eventually having his leg stabilized in an air cast before he was put onto the cart.

The entire USC sideline then came onto the field and surrounded Dye in support before the cart headed toward the locker room, as Dye acknowledged the crowd with a thumbs up and a Fight On victory sign.

USC coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Dye will miss the rest of the season but didn't share a specific diagnosis.

"We'll want to get some things confirmed, but [I] don't expect that he'll play again this year -- but don't expect it to be anything long-term in terms of his future," Riley said. "He's going to be playing on an NFL team next year and probably playing really well."

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USC went on to win 55-17 over Colorado, improving to 9-1 overall and 7-1 in Pac-12 play, but Dye's injury hung over everything Friday night.

Riley spent a good chunk of the postgame press conference talking about Dye, the impact he's made in his first and only season at USC after transferring in from Oregon and the scene on the field.

"It's tough. It shook us all a little bit. He's such an emotional leader, and here he is a senior, it just, yeah it sucks. There's just really no other way to put it," Riley said. "It's one of the tough parts of this game. This game, it's given Trav a lot, he's put a lot into it and he's had an awesome career, he's had an awesome run here for us this year. There's no way we would be sitting here where we're at as a football team without him. So his role will probably be a little bit different going forward here for this team, but he'll still be a huge leader and huge part of it.

"And he's got a lot of great ball and a lot of other great things ahead of him right now. He's married way over his head, so he's definitely got that going for him. We love him and it's an unfortunate part of this game."

The Oregon transfer playing out his final season with the Trojans, back closer to his family in Norco, quickly became a fan favorite this fall while emerging as one of the true leaders in the USC locker room, extending his value beyond even his substantial on-field contributions.

Dye's 26 yards Friday pushed his season total to 884 rushing yards with 9 touchdowns, along with 20 receptions for 194 yards. He was averaging over 6 yards per carry entering the night.

Dye now has 3,995 career rushing yards, 103 receptions for 1,063 yards and 38 combined touchdowns. That puts him at 5,058 yards of total offense for his college career.

"I just told him I appreciated him. I mean, it's just an emotional thing, especially when you have one like that you know it's pretty serious," Riley said of his exchange with Dye on the field. "... He's been so critical to this team being 9-1 and in an awesome position. It breaks your heart, it does, but again it's part of the game, and that's why you've got to appreciate every opportunity you get to coach it, especially to play it. And I think his time here on the field will be with no regrets. He's certainly left it all out there and done everything he could for this team, and I know he'll continue to do so."

Quarterback Caleb Williams, like most all of the Trojans, also shared a quick moment with Dye before the cart headed to the locker room.

"I just told him I love him. I looked him in the eye and told him I love him and we're going to go get this. That's about it. I was just there for him," Williams said. "Like coach said, he's been a key part to everything for us as a team, for me as a QB being able to hand the ball off to him and him being able to do some special things and also in pass pro, even the scramble drill. He's a special player, special human. We're going to miss him on the field, but like coach said, he's still going to be there and he'll have a different [role] on the team."

With Dye down, Austin Jones -- who entered the night with 261 rushing yards on 6.4 yards per carry and 3 TDs, plus 8 catches for 95 yards entering the night -- took over while rushing 11 times for 74 yards and catching 4 passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.

The two started the season splitting carries before Dye asserted himself as the primary back and Jones' opportunities diminished, but he'll be looking at a major role moving forward, along with some combination of freshman Raleek Brown (7 carries for 53 yards, 2 catches for 38 yards and a TD on Friday) and veteran Darwin Barlow (5 carries for 41 yards and a TD, 2 catches for 31 yards late in the game).

Dye later returned to the sidelined with his lower left leg heavily wrapped.

"We talked all the way through the game. He's a great leader -- hurt, not hurt, he's always going to be there to bounce ideas off each other," Jones said.

In taking over a downtrodden USC football program almost a year ago, Riley brought in an influx of transfers to not only bolster talent where needed but to help him establish a new culture and standards as a foundation for what he and his staff aimed to build.

Dye emerged as one of the most impactful players in that regard and one who didn't hesitate to speak up when needed.

"Tremendously important. And I say important to the culture, but really important to like the competitive nature and the way we practice and the energy and the competitiveness and the physicality and the toughness," Riley said. "He was one of the key cogs in this team making some real progress there. I think we all know that was something that had to happen here, and he was a central figure in that. His presence on the field, his presence on the practice field, all of that, it got everybody going. He's an infectious leader, an infectious personality."