The first full day of college football action is behind us but opening weekend isn’t over yet.
There were plenty of winners and losers Saturday as teams found their footing, but overall, it was a fairly chalky day without many upsets. No. 1 Georgia blasted No. 14 Clemson in the marquee game of the day, No. 19 Miami showed it may be the class of the ACC while hammering in-state rival Florida and No. 7 Notre Dame outlasted No. 20 Texas A&M in the nightcap. No. 4 Texas won by such a wide margin that Arch Manning played most of the second half and tallied the first touchdowns of his career.
Now it’s time to look to the desert as No. 13 LSU takes on No. 23 USC in Las Vegas.
Time: 7:30 p.m. Sunday | TV: ABC | Line: LSU -4.5 | Total: 64.5
Both of these teams are looking to answer defensive questions from last season and be in the mix for the College Football Playoff.
LSU hired Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker after the Tigers allowed 28 points and 6.1 yards per play a season ago. USC hired UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn to run the defense after Alex Grinch’s units kept getting gashed. The Trojans also allowed 6.1 yards per play last season and opponents scored nearly 35 points per game.
Garrett Nussmeier takes over at QB for Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and LSU also has to replace first-round wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas.
QB Miller Moss officially takes over for Caleb Williams at USC after a stellar bowl game. He’ll have a lot of new faces around him at the skill positions, as USC needs to replace its top two leading rushers and four of its top six receivers from 2023.
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