LSU Football

LSU drops 5th straight opener. USC bests LSU 27-20

By Preston Guy

September 1, 2024

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LSU (0-1) dropped its fifth consecutive opener Sunday night after failing to secure a fourth-quarter lead against USC (1-0).

After a mostly-improved performance from LSU’s defense, the Tigers needed one final stop with the game tied at 20 with less than two minutes to play.

Unfortunately for LSU, USC’s high-octane offense proved too much to stop and the Trojans took the lead 27-20 with eight seconds left to play.

“You have to have a killer instinct to play this game,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “We put too much pressure on our defense to be something they’re not ready to be. They’ve gotten a lot better, but we have warts.”

All offseason long the conversation was about whether LSU’s defense could be serviceable after fielding a historically bad unit. While improvements were evident, USC quarterback Miller Moss proved to be too much to overcome.

He torched LSU’s secondary going 27-36 for 378 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. on the ground, however, USC rushed for just 69 yards on 23 carries.

USC outgained LSU 447-421.

Offensive LSU moved the ball well for most of the night, but seemed to not be able to make the crucial plays when it mattered most. LSU converted five of 13 third-down attempts and one of two 4^th down tries.

“We weren’t able to pull the ball in the endzone when we needed too,” Kelly said. “You can’t win it if you don’t come away with touchdowns or come away with nothing from the 3-yard line.”

LSU quarterback Nussmeier looked impressive for most of the game before throwing an interception while trying to lead a 75-yard touchdown drive with eight seconds to play.

He completed 29 of his 38 passes for 304 yards and a pair of touchdowns with the aforementioned interception. His favorite target was Kyren Lacy with seven grabs for 94 yards and a touchdown.

LSU struggled to run the ball for most of the night, but LSU senior running back John Emery Jr. was a bright spot leading the Tigers with ten carries for 61 yards.

Notably, LSU had ten penalties for 99 yards including a targeting penalty on the final drive that set up the game-winning touchdown for USC.

Openers won’t get easier anytime soon for the Tigers. LSU will open next season at Clemson.