In a matchup of new starting quarterbacks with big shoes to fill and new defensive coordinators with big messes to clean up, No. 23 USC outlasted No. 13 LSU 27-20 in Las Vegas on Sunday night in one of the best games of college football’s first full weekend. A 13-yard rushing touchdown by Woody Marks with eight seconds to play capped a frantic final sequence, with both teams trading scores.
After a 28-yard touchdown pass from USC quarterback Miller Moss to Ja’Kobi Lane with 5:44 to play gave the Trojans a 20-17 lead, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier drove LSU down into the red zone, but the Tigers’ drive stalled at the 14, leading to a Damian Ramos field goal from 31 yards out with 1:47 left. On the ensuing drive, Moss threaded a pass down the sideline for Kyron Hudson inside the LSU 30 with 13 seconds to go, and a targeting penalty on LSU safety Jardin Gilbert put USC comfortably within field goal range. Marks did not leave the game down to a kick, scampering in for the game-winning score on the next play.
For the Tigers, the loss extended their winless streak in season openers to five years, including all three seasons under head coach Brian Kelly.
Here are our takeaways from a dramatic finish in Las Vegas.
Steady effort from Moss
The defense was the primary preseason question for USC, but Moss was stepping into a new spotlight too, replacing Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. Moss was poised and steady, completing 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and a touchdown. He did that without getting much early support from the run game, though Marks busted through with two rushing touchdowns in his first game since transferring from Mississippi State. Moss spread the ball around and stayed within the structure of the scheme, the latter something Williams didn’t always do. That has its benefits for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans as they look ahead to their first season in the Big Ten. Williams often created something out of nothing. But other times, his improvisation disrupted the offense’s timing.
LSU has its next great quarterback
After waiting his turn for three seasons, Nussmeier did not disappoint in his first regular-season start as the Tigers QB1. He was accurate and able to sustain long drives by taking what USC’s defense gave him, even if that meant a lot of checkdowns. But when it was time to strike, he did. He placed the ball perfectly on a 19-yard second-quarter touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy in the corner of the end zone, and in the third quarter, he found a streaking Aaron Anderson for a 13-yard touchdown to take a 17-13 lead.
Nussmeier, who finished 29 of 38 for 304 yards and two touchdowns, does not possess the same crazy athleticism as his predecessor, 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but if LSU can improve on defense, it won’t need its QB to put up 500 yards a game.
USC’s defense is better but still has some pressing concerns
The Trojans looked better against the run. They tackled better. They didn’t get blown off the ball in the trenches. First-year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn dialed up a timely blitz that led to a fourth-down stop on LSU’s first drive of the game. All of those were positives for a defense that was sorely lacking them last year, but the absence of a consistent pass rush is a concern to monitor for the Trojans. LSU does have one of the best offensive lines in the country, so USC’s defense should have it easier from here on out, but it needs to apply more pressure than it did Sunday night. Otherwise, the defense ends up on the field far too long, as it did in the first half Sunday, when LSU nearly doubled USC in time of possession (19:03-10:57). The secondary gave way too much cushion to the Tigers’ wideouts early on, which led to a big day from Lacy: seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
