There was a stretch of time during the offseason when it felt like USC was getting transfer commitments from significant contributors every day. With Lincoln Riley’s arrival in Los Angeles, excitement was palpable around the USC program and it just kept growing with each transfer announcement.

Travis Dye announced in January he was leaving Oregon and transferring to USC to spend his final year of college ball in Riley’s offense.

That decision seems to have paid off fairly well. Dye has touchdowns in five consecutive games. His 571 rushing yards are the second-most in the league. His six rushing scores are tied for third. And USC is 6-0.

But Dye isn’t content with what has been done. It’s not enough to just be a piece of this high-powered offense. He wants bigger things.

“I didn’t come here just to be a guy or do my time and leave,” Dye told team reporter Keely Eure. “No, I came here to put USC back on the map because it’s been a while since USC was in any kind of conversation with college football. Getting the opportunity to do something like that, I know how it looks like, I know how it’s done.”

After USC’s win over Arizona State two weeks ago, Dye said the team needed a better energy and a better approach to games. He said they were getting a bit complacent in their preparation, maybe taking a little too much pride in the unbeaten start. He thought things were much cleaner in a 30-14 win over Washington State from that standpoint.

When Riley was charting out how to build this roster — what kind of players he would need to not only up the talent level but provide the leadership necessary to compete for titles — Dye couldn’t have possibly been a better fit.

“We’ve certainly leaned on him, no question,” Riley said this week. “His consistency, that’s one of his best things as a player.

“Not just the way he plays, but his mentality, practice habits, his focus. It’s a great model for our other players to kind of look at and say here’s a guy who’s a talented player, he’s certainly not the most talented guy we have on the football team, but the thing he is is he’s one of our most focused, consistent players. Typically those turn out to be your best players.”

USC will need him to once again be at his best this weekend against Utah. The Trojans have a chance to make a statement in Salt Lake City and solidify themselves as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender with a win over the 20th-ranked Utes. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT on FOX.