USC standout wide receiver Jordan Addison set to play vs. Colorado

After four weeks without its top offensive weapon, USC is expecting to get injured wideout Jordan Addison back for Friday’s game against Colorado, coach Lincoln Riley said.

Addison has already missed two games after suffering a leg injury in the second half of USC’s loss to Utah. His return arrives at the ideal time for USC’s offense, with rivals UCLA and Notre Dame looming in the weeks to come.

Whether USC will also return its No. 2 target was still unclear as of Thursday. Riley called Mario Williams a “game-time decision” for Friday.

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The status of injured linebacker Eric Gentry (ankle) will also be decided just before kickoff, while the Trojans are expecting to get his backup, Ralen Goforth, back from a hand injury.

Addison, the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner was well on his way to another standout season before the injury, with seven touchdowns in his first seven games as a Trojan. In Addison’s absence, however, USC’s passing attack didn’t miss a beat against Arizona and California, as Caleb Williams threw for 774 yards and nine touchdowns using a fleet of reserve receivers.

Williams will be one step closer to having his full complement of weapons Friday, with one of the conference’s worst pass defenses on tap. Colorado has allowed 8.4 yards per attempt this season and given up 21 touchdowns, the most in the Pac-12.