LSU Suffers Fifth Straight Season-Opening Loss, Falls to USC 27-20 in Kickoff Classic

9/1/2024

Photo By: ESPN

Da Boot Sports
9/1/2024
By: Jason Watson Jr.

Las Vegas, NV- Under the bright lights of primetime, national television, and the Las Vegas welcome sign, the Trojans of USC and the Tigers or LSU duked it out in a back-and-forth football game that resulted in a 27-20 victory for the cardinal and gold. With the loss, LSU’s season-opening loss streak drags out to five years in a row as the last 1-0 start came in 2019. Penalties, lack of offensive execution, and lackadaisical plays on defense made all the difference in this one.
LSU’s offense looked sharp on the game's opening drive, using about half of the first-quarter clock. Garrett Nussmeier put his gunslinging prowess on display early as he and Kyren Lacy got cooking. The two hooked up four, almost five times, in the series, but Lacy couldn't stay in bounds in the back corner of the end zone on second-and-goal.
The Tigers went down the field with ease even getting down within the USC five-yard line. Negatives? LSU could not come away with points. Instead, a goal line stop from the Trojans’ defense forced a turnover on downs on Brian Kelly’s second fourth-down attempt of the game.
USC’s Miller Moss strolled onto the field with the Trojan offense, picking up a single first down before All-American Harold Perkins made his presence felt. The LSU linebacker came off the edge in a hurry, blowing up a third-down play. Both teams would trade punts to end a scoreless opening period.
Moss orchestrated the first scoring drive of the game. Wide receiver Kyron Hudson went up to snag a one-handed circus reception, gaining 24 yards. Two LSU penalties, including a pass interference by Sage Ryan in the end zone, aided the Trojans in finding pay dirt with a two-yard rushing touchdown from Woody Marks. 7-0, USC.
It would not take LSU long to respond as Nuss found Lacy for a 19-yard strike for a TD on the following possession. Kyren made sure that he got a foot down this time. Tied up at seven.
Zachariah Branch showed off the speed and electric playmaking ability on the ensuing kickoff as he returned the ball 46 yards, making his way across midfield. As if that were not bad enough, Miller Moss connected with Duce Robinson for a 38-yard bomb on the first play of the drive, settling the ball on the LSU five.
An illegal block penalty and a forced fumble from Sai’Vion Jones would set USC’s offense back, forcing them to settle for a field goal. The chip shot kick made the score 10-7, Trojans with a little over four minutes remaining in the first half.

The Tigers then delivered a field goal of their own as Damian Ramos knocked a 45-yarder through the uprights, tying the game once again, 10-10.
Lincoln Riley sent the USC offense into their two-minute drill with just 1:08 on the clock. They utilized both the passing and rushing attacks to slash the Tigers’ defense for 63 yards, setting up senior kicker Michael Lantz with an opportunity to take the lead into halftime. He missed the 29-yarder, leaving the score deadlocked as both squads trotted to the locker rooms.

The second half began much slower than the first as the teams exchanged three-and-out series, but LSU’s self-inflicted wounds of giving up large chunks of yards and defensive penalties allowed Moss and the Trojans to reclaim the lead once again. A bend, don’t break style of play, in conjunction with Sai’Vion Jones’ second sack of the game, forced coach Riley into a third FGA. This time, Lantz was good from 35. The Tigers trailed 13-10 with 7:13 to go in the third quarter.
LSU only had 46 rushing yards through the first two quarters, but John Emery Jr. more than doubled that number by himself on the next drive, breaking free for back-to-back rushes of 39 and 10 yards, respectively. Nussmeier would cap the drive off with his second touchdown toss of the contest, finding Aaron Anderson for 19 yards. LSU took their first lead, 17-13, at the 3:42 mark of the period.
With the fourth quarter approaching, USC’s offense stalled out and was forced to punt the ball back to the Tigers. Although they had momentum and the lead in their favor, coach Kelly and the offense were unable to muster any further advantage, giving the ball back to the Trojans at their 15-yard line.
Lincoln Riley’s play calling was not enough to block out the noise of LSU’s fans as the crowd impacted the ability of Miller Moss to execute the offense. USC was forced to burn two timeouts midway through the fourth. After crossing midfield and having a seeming threat to score, the Tigers hunkered down and forced a huge turnover on downs. LSU would take over on their 21-yard line following an unsportsmanlike penalty against Major Burns.
Yet again, Nussmeier could not get the ball rolling against the stifling Trojan front seven as they went three and out, sending the ball back to USC with 6:57 to go in the game. The Tigers clung to a four-point lead.
Miller Moss made the Tigers pay. A hard count from the USC quarterback was enough to draw Major Burns offside and give the Trojans a free play. Ja’Kobi Lane made an outstanding play along the sideline, Moss lobbed it up to him, and LSU relinquished the lead with a TD. USC led 20-17, with 5:44 remaining in the game.
LSU took advantage of the soft coverage from the USC defense, and worked quickly down the field, getting within striking distance of the end zone before settling for another Ramos field goal to tie things at 20. 1:47 was shown on the game clock as the Trojans took to the field in an attempt to secure the win.
Miller Moss led his team down the field in a clinic of the two-minute offense. USC, even with just one timeout, made their way down inside field goal range with time to spare. However, with under 20 seconds to go, Kyron Hudson hauled in the biggest catch of the night; a 20-yard circus grab along the sideline while drawing a targeting penalty against Jardin Gilbert. The personal foul would move the ball to the LSU 13-yard line, all but guaranteeing a made FGA. The leg of Lantz would not need to be called upon, as Woody Marks plunged ahead into the end zone, putting the Trojans in front for good.
Brian Kelly and this LSU team will have a lot of mental mistakes and execution to clean up in the upcoming weeks. Luckily for them, an FCS opponent awaits a home date in Baton Rouge for what should be an easy victory.
Nicholls State University will travel to Tiger Stadium on Saturday, September 7th, for a date with LSU. You can catch that game on SECN+ or ESPN+ from the live broadcast. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CST. Geaux Tigers!

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