CNN
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The No. 23 USC Trojans scored a touchdown with eight seconds left to secure a clear 27-20 victory over the No. 13 LSU Tigers on Sunday.

Running back Woody Marks broke through the LSU defense from 13 yards out and scored the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds that gave USC a late lead in the Vegas Kickoff Classic.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier needed a miracle to tie the game, but he threw an interception to give the Trojans a famous win in the teams’ first meeting in 40 years.

“We worked really hard in the offseason to build the identity of a tough team where each other is really the focus,” USC quarterback Miller Moss said, according to the program’s website.

It was a fitting end to a thrilling encounter at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas that saw the two teams go up and down the field, scoring points against each other, punctuated by some moments of brilliance.

It was billed as a battle between two quarterbacks who had to wait their turn to be in the starting lineup; both USC’s Moss and LSU’s Nussmeier had to sit behind the two most recent Heisman Trophy winners, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams, both selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The first moment of magic came on USC’s first scoring drive of the second quarter, when Moss threw a pass that Kyron Hudson acrobatically picked up with one hand and somehow caught despite his awkward body position. The Trojans capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Marks, which started the first scoring drive.

But the Tigers came back with a bang and LSU’s Kyren Lacy answered with an acrobatic 19-yard touchdown catch of her own to tie the score.

For the rest of the game, the teams engaged in an exciting duel that kept the 63,969 spectators – including some well-known former players such as the new starting quarterbacks of the Washington Commanders Daniels and Shaquille O’Neal as well as the Heisman winners of the USC Marcus Allen and Matt Leinart – on tenterhooks.

Tigers kicker Daniel Ramos tied the game at 20-20 with 1:47 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Marks’ late touchdown run gave the Trojans the win and a stylish start to their debut season in the Big Ten.

“That was pretty good Big Ten football today,” a smiling USC head coach Lincoln Riley said afterwards.

Moss finished with 378 passing yards and a touchdown, while Nussmeier had 304 passing yards, two touchdowns and that late interception.

After the loss, LSU head coach Brian Kelly lamented his team’s lack of “supplementary football.”

“What concerns me most are the personal fouls, the selfish penalties,” he said, according to the USC website. “Those are undisciplined penalties. That reflects on me.”

“We pride ourselves on running a disciplined program, but we obviously didn’t do a good enough job there because it affected the game.”