In a battle between new starting quarterbacks with big shoes to fill and new defensive coordinators with big messes to clean up, No. 23 USC beat No. 13 LSU 27-20 on Sunday night in Las Vegas. It was one of the best games of the first full weekend of college football. A 13-yard touchdown by Woody Marks with eight seconds left capped a hectic final sequence in which both teams exchanged points.

After a 28-yard touchdown pass from USC quarterback Miller Moss to Ja’Kobi Lane with 5:44 left gave the Trojans a 20-17 lead, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier brought LSU into the red zone, but the Tigers’ drive stalled at the 14-yard line, leading to a 31-yard field goal by Damian Ramos with 1:47 left. On the ensuing drive, Moss completed a pass down the sideline to Kyron Hudson inside the LSU 30-yard line with 13 seconds left, and a targeted attack penalty on LSU safety Jardin Gilbert put USC comfortably within field goal range. Marks didn’t let a kick decide the game and ran on the next play for the game-winning point.

For the Tigers, the loss extended their winless streak in season-opening games to five years and increased the frustration of head coach Brian Kelly as he enters his third season since leaving Notre Dame for Baton Rouge.

“It’s the first time since I’ve been here (at LSU) that I’ve been angry at my football team,” Kelly said after the game. “First of all, we haven’t played complementary football by and large. When we did some good things on offense, we didn’t complement that on defense and vice versa. But what concerns me the most are the personal fouls, the selfish penalties. Both of them resulted in points, and they’re undisciplined penalties, and at the end of the day, they come back to me.”

“I’m not doing my job well enough as a coach… it’s unacceptable that we didn’t find a way to win this football game.”

Brian Kelly says he is “angry” at his team after the loss to USC. pic.twitter.com/vloYGyKDh2

— ESPN (@espn) 2 September 2024

Here are our insights from a dramatic finale in Las Vegas.

Moss shows consistently good performances

Defense was the biggest preseason question for USC, but Moss also got the spotlight when he replaced Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick Caleb Williams. Moss was composed and reliable, completing 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and a touchdown. He did that without getting much early help from the running game, although Marks broke 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 advantages for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, who are heading into their first season in the Big Ten. Williams often created something out of nothing. But sometimes his improvisation messed up the offense’s timing.

LSU has its next great quarterback

After waiting three seasons for his chance, Nussmeier did not disappoint in his first regular season as the Tigers’ QB1. He was accurate and could sustain long offenses by taking advantage of 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 touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter, and in the third quarter he found the onrushing Aaron Anderson for a 13-yard touchdown, giving them a 17-13 lead.

Nussmeier, who completed 29 of 38 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns, may not have the same incredible athleticism as his predecessor, 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but if LSU can improve its defense, it won’t need 500 yards per game from its quarterback. — Stewart Mandel

USC’s defense is better but still has some pressing problems

The Trojans looked better in the run game. They tackled better. They didn’t let the ball get thrown off in the trenches. D’Anton Lynn, the new defensive coordinator, launched a well-timed blitz that resulted in a fourth-down stop on LSU’s first drive of the game. All of these were positives for a defense that sorely lacked that last year, but the lack of a consistent pass rush is a problem for the Trojans. LSU has one of the best offensive lines in the country, so USC’s defense should have an easier time from here on out, but it needs to apply more pressure than it did Sunday night. Otherwise, the defense will stay on the field far too long, as it did in the first half on Sunday, when LSU nearly doubled USC in time of possession (19:03-10:57). The secondary gave the Tigers’ wideouts far too much room early, leading to a big day from Lacy: seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Kyron Hudson’s spectacular evening

While the junior receiver didn’t make it to the end zone on Sunday night, he led the Trojans with five catches for 83 yards and, just as importantly, will top this game’s highlight list thanks to the jaw-dropping one-handed catch he pulled off between several LSU defenders in the second quarter.

unreal from every angle 🔥

🎥 @ESPNCFB pic.twitter.com/rRKWnilqig

— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) 2 September 2024

Hudson’s concentration was on display again in the crucial period when he held onto Moss’s floating sideline ball just as Gilbert fired an illegal punt. Had he dropped the pass and the Trojans only gained space on the targeting call, kicker Michael Lantz, who missed a chip shot late in the first half, would still have had a big field goal attempt.

Missed opportunities are great

A game that ended with both offenses trading blows could have been even more goal-filled had both teams capitalized on their best scoring opportunities. LSU began the night with a 13-play, 74-yard run that lasted more than seven minutes and included a fourth-down conversion, but the Tigers attempted a second down on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, and Nussmeier’s pass to CJ Daniels was incomplete.

The Trojans also started the night with good passing but struggled inside the 20 yards. USC scored a touchdown on its first trip to the red zone, but its next three trips also yielded only six points due to various errors. Lane was penalized for a costly blindside block from his outside receiver spot. Hudson, despite his heroics inside the 20 yards, failed to make several contested catches that were within his reach. Moss was sacked inappropriately. Lantz missed a 29-yard field goal. The Trojans and Riley will want to work on their efficiency.

LSU’s running game seemed to turn around in the third quarter when sixth-year senior John Emery Jr. ran 39 yards for a touchdown to give the team a lead. But Emery failed to gain a single yard on his final five carries of the game and Nussmeier failed to complete his final two passes in the red zone around the two-minute warning before the Tigers had to settle for a field goal to tie the game.

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)