Lincoln Riley and the Trojans are leaving Las Vegas with a win.
No. 23 USC stunned No. 13 LSU in a thrilling contest at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada on Sunday night with a 27-20 win to open the season. Trojans quarterback Miller Moss led them on an eight-play, 75-yard game winning drive that lasted just more than 90 seconds late in the fourth quarter that Woody Marks sealed with a 13-yard touchdown run.
That score was set up by wide receiver Kyron Hudson, too, who pulled in a one-handed 20-yard grab with just 18 seconds left. That brought the Trojans into the red zone, thanks to a targeting call that Hudson drew while making the catch.
Moss finished throwing 27-of-36 for 378 yards and one touchdown in the win, which marked USC’s first as a member of the Big Ten conference. The Trojans intercepted LSU one final time to seal the win after their final touchdown, too.
The two teams went into halftime tied up 10-10 on Sunday night after a battle in the first 30 minutes. Garrett Nussmeier had 191 of his 304 yards in the first half and he found wide receiver Kyren Lacy seven times for 94 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But it was USC and Hudson that made the biggest play of the first half.
Hudson hauled in a wild one-handed grab that he somehow managed to keep from moving when he hit the ground in what was an early Catch of the Year candidate.
The Trojans made it back down to the red zone to open halftime, too, but had to settle for a second straight field goal. That allowed LSU to jump back up. The Tigers scored on a 13-yard completion to Aaron Anderson in the third, and then they came up with a massive fourth down stop to get the ball back midway through the fourth quarter.
After several stalled drives, USC quarterback Miller Moss mounted a quick three-play drive that he capped with a perfect 28-yard toss to Ja’Kobi Lane to get the Trojans up 20-17 late in the fourth.
Though LSU ran down the field immediately, USC stopped them in the red zone and forced a field goal that tied the game up with just less than two minutes to go. That set up Moss’ final drive that gave the Trojans the win and handed LSU it’s fifth consecutive opening-game loss.
LSU will return home to host Nicholls next week. USC will host Utah State next in its home opener before traveling to No. 9 Michigan on Sept. 21.
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Final: USC 27, LSU 20
The Trojans are victors and the Tigers lose their season-opener for the fifth straight season.
Source Agencies