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NCAAF 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. Advertisement 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, adding to head coach Brian Kelly’s frustrations entering his third season since leaving Notre Dame for Baton Rouge. . “It’s the first time since I’ve been here (at LSU) that I’m angry at my football team, ” Kelly said after the game. “First of all, from a big picture, we didn’t play complementary football. When we did some good things on the offensive side of the ball, we didn’t complement that defensively and vice versa. But the thing that is most concerning for me are the personal fouls, the penalties that are selfish. Both of them led to scores, and they’re undisciplined penalties, and effectively they fall back on me. ” "I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach … it's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. " Brian Kelly says he's "angry" with his team after the loss to USC. pic. twitter. com/vlo YGy KDh2 — ESPN (@espn) September 2, 2024 Here are our takeaways from a dramatic finish in Las Vegas. 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. Advertisement 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. — Stewart Mandel 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. The junior receiver didn’t find the end zone on Sunday night, but he led the Trojans with five catches for 83 yards and, just as importantly, will lead this game’s highlight package thanks to the eye-popping one-handed snag he brought down among multiple LSU defenders in the second quarter. unreal from every angle ? ? @ESPNCFB pic. twitter. com/r RKWnilqig — USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) September 2, 2024 Hudson’s concentration came through again in crunch time when he held onto the floating sideline ball from Moss just as Gilbert delivered an illegal hit. If he had dropped the pass and the Trojans had only gained yardage from the targeting call, that still would have left a sizable field goal try for kicker Michael Lantz, who missed a chip shot late in the first half. Advertisement A game that ended with both offenses trading blows could have been even more high-scoring if both teams had capitalized on all their best scoring chances. LSU began the night with a 13-play, 74-yard drive that lasted more than seven minutes and included one fourth-down conversion, but the Tigers went for a second at fourth-and-goal from the 3, and Nussmeier’s pass for CJ Daniels fell incomplete. The Trojans also began the night moving the ball well but struggling inside the 20. USC scored a touchdown on its first red zone trip, but its next three trips produced just six points thanks to a variety of miscues too. Lane was called for a costly blindside block from his outside receiver spot. Hudson, despite his heroics between the 20s, couldn’t come down with some contested catches that were within his grasp. Moss took an untimely sack. Lantz missed a 29-yard field goal. The Trojans and Riley will want to work on their efficiency. LSU’s run game appeared to turn a corner in the third quarter when sixth-year senior John Emery Jr. broke a 39-yard run to set up a go-ahead touchdown. But Emery netted zero yards on his final five carries of the game, and Nussmeier was unable to connect on two final red zone passes around the two-minute warning before the Tigers settled for a tying field goal. (Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today) Get all-access to exclusive stories. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.