LSU Drops Fifth Straight Season Opener To USC 27-20

For the third straight season under Brian Kelly and for the fifth year in a row since the 2019 National Championship season, the LSU Tigers start the season 0-1 in disappointing fashion this time falling to the USC Trojans 27-20.

It was an even game for the most part as both quarterbacks making their second career starts looked efficient. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier completed 29 of 38 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns to one interception while USC’s Miller Moss completed 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown.

“Garrett did some good things. There were a couple that I think he would like to have back. Like any first game against a good opponent, he did enough for us to win the football game. When we needed a couple of plays, I think there are a couple of things that he would like to do better, but he is going to be good for us and he will get better from today.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

However, the Trojans just made the plays they needed to make highlighted by two spectacular grabs by Kyron Hudson. The first was an Odell Beckham esque one handed catch in the first half, but the second grab was more impactful in the outcome of the game with him making a tough catch in between two defenders and getting blasted by LSU safety Jardin Gilbert, who was then ejected with a targeting call.

That put the ball half the distance to the goal and USC was able to break a 20-20 tie with the eventual game winning touchdown from Mississippi State transfer  Woody Marks to go ahead 27-20 with eight seconds remaining.

LSU’s last desperation attempt was intercepted and the USC Trojans escaped Las Vegas with a huge season opening win.

The result was certainly disappointing with this being the third straight loss in the Brian Kelly era. After the game, Kelly was furious about how his team did not have the killer mentality needed to win.

“We’re sitting here again talking about the same things. We’re on the sidelines acting like the game is over. I am so angry about it. It is unacceptable to not have found a way to win this game.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

“It’s clear to me that when we get up in a game, we don’t know how to handle ourselves. You got to have a killer instinct in this game. You got to put teams away. We had an opportunity to put this team away and we get more complacent and we make more mistakes when we’re ahead instead of having a better focus and having a killer instinct. That’s disappointing. I’m angry about those things and I got to do a better job of shaping that as a group.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

LSU had their chances to take over the game and just did not capitalize on those chances. Those missed opportunities started on the opening drive when LSU took the football and marched down the field on 13 plays for 74 yards and took over seven minutes off the clock, but came away with no points after turning the ball over on downs as Garrett Nussmeier threw the football away out of bounds.

USC took a 7-0 lead as after Hudson’s one handed grab and a pass interference play allowed the Trojans to score on a Woody Marks touchdown run.

However, LSU responded with another nice drive, but this time finished with Nussmeier hitting Kyren Lacy for a 19 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 in the second quarter.

An unsportsmanlike penalty on Lacy after the touchdown made it a returnable kick for Zachariah Branch, who returned it way inside LSU territory before being tackled by kicker Aeron Burrell, who saved a touchdown. That touchdown saving tackle paid off for LSU as USC settled for a field goal to go up 10-7.

LSU then tied the game at 10 with a field goal of their own from 45 yards out by Damian Ramos. USC drove the ball down the field and was looking to take the lead going into halftime but Michael Lantz’s kick hooked and it was no good with the game being tied at halftime.

After two punts, USC took the lead on a field goal to go up 13-10, but once again, LSU responded with a 78 yard scoring drive when Nussmeier threw his second touchdown pass of the game this time to  Aaron Anderson for LSU to grab its first lead of the game at 17-13 late in the third quarter.

Both teams punted and LSU’s defense came up big with a turnover on downs to give its offense the ball back, but its offense could not take advantage of the situation with the lead as the Tigers went three and out after the turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter.

USC scored in a hurry after its defense forced a three and out and scored on three plays when Moss took advantage of an offsides play and threw it Ja’Kobi Lane for a 28 yard touchdowns to give the Trojans back the lead at 20-17 with 5:44 remaining in the game.

LSU did at least what they needed to do by marching down the field 61 yards, but once again, stalled in the red zone. With 1:47 left to play, Ramos made the clutch tying kick to tie the game at 20. Still, with three timeouts, USC’s offense perfectly executed the situation and put the Trojans in position to score the game winning touchdown.

As painful as it may seem for Tiger fans, there were positive takeaways as Garrett Nussmeier had an efficient game in his second career start. He and Kyren Lacy  showed off their chemistry in the first half as LSU’s WR1 finished with seven grabs for 94 yards and a touchdown even though LSU’s WR1 was hardly targeted in the second half. Also, offensively,  Aaron Anderson had his best game as a Tiger with five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Mason Taylor played a big part in the offense with seven grabs for 62 yards. Then, the most surprising of them all was John Emery Jr.’s efficiency in the running game by leading all rushers with 61 yards on 10 carries including a 39 yard run. The offense moved the ball within the 20’s but did not execute well enough when converting drives into six point drives.

“We had over 400 yards of total offense. We weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone when we needed to. This is much more about being a much better and efficient offense in the red zone than it is the failings and the inability to run. We ran the ball well enough to set up everything else that we needed to do. Our execution needs to get better, but we ran the ball well enough to win it. You can’t win the ball game when you don’t score touchdowns in the areas or come away with nothing from the three yard line.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

Defensively, there was some progress as well. There was much more aggression on that side of the football as Saivion Jones had perhaps his best game as a Tiger with two sacks and a batted ball to force a turnover on downs.  Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins Jr. were playing free as each combined for 14 tackles and two TFLs. Defensive backs made some good reads on the football whether it was  Jordan Allen or  Ashton Stamps, who showed tonight that there is potential to be a CB1 for the Tigers. Similar to last year though, the Tigers still gave up big plays in the pass game especially when it mattered most.

“Our defensive tackle play was better. Our edge play was better. We tackled pretty good. We competed on the edge and we were competitive. I just think overall it’s connected better. We got to get better in some areas, but it’s a cohesive connected group. They played really hard and didn’t execute at the end as well as what we would have liked. That was probably it.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

Positives were made on both sides of the ball, but it was clear that all sides were not feeding off each other throughout the entirety of the game whether it was offense, defense, or special teams. Another big statistic that LSU will point to that allowed them to be on the short end of the stick was not only its inconsistent play, but the number of penalties as LSU committed 10 of them throughout the game.

“From a big picture, we did not play complementary football. The thing that is most concerning to me are the personal fouls. The penalties are selfish. Both of them led to scores. They are undisciplined penalties. They effectively fall back on me. We take pride in running a disciplined program, but we clearly not have done a good enough job there because it impacted the game.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly

As disappointing and as bad of a habit this has been for LSU under the Brian Kelly era, his teams have improved over the course of the year and have been in contention in the SEC race. With an expanded College Football Playoff, opportunities still will arise for LSU to be in contention, but the margin of error is much slimmer moving forward.

The #13 LSU Tigers (0-1) will look to bounce back in their home opener against Nicholls State next Saturday while the #23 USC Trojans (1-0) will look to build on their upset win next Saturday against Utah State.

Check out some of the photos taken by Billy Metcalf!

Final Stats:

Offensive Cumulative Stats

STATUSCLSU
NET TOTAL YARDS447421
NET RUSHING YARDS69117
Rushing Attempts2326
Average Per Rush3.04.5
Rushing TDs20
Yards Gained93124
Yards Lost247
NET PASSING YARDS378304
Completion-Attempts27-3729-38
Completion Percentage73%76%
Avg Per Completion14.010.5
YAC188153
Passing TDs12
Drops (%)0 (00%)0 (00%)
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS2421
Rushing 1st Downs54
Passing 1st Downs1617
Penalty 1st Downs30
TOTAL PLAYS6064
Avg Yds/Play7.56.6
Rushing-Passing23-3726-38

Offense Efficiency Comparison

STATUSCLSU
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS4-53-4
Red Zone Points2017
RZ TDs Rush-Pass2-00-2
RZ FG Made-Att2-31-1
RZ Turns01
3rd Downs3-95-13
4th Downs0-11-2
Penalties6-5010-99
Fumbles-Lost2-00-0
Pts Off Turns00
POSSESSION TIME27:0033:00

Special Teams Comparison:

STATUSCLSU
Punts-Avg3-55.34-38.3
Inside2012
Field Goals2-32-2
Kick Returns2-542-30
Punt Returns1-02-16

Southern California Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
7MOSS,M27-363781075172.4
PASS TOTALS27-373781073

Southern California Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%YACDR
10HUDSON,K58302416.6863280
87MCREE,L55601911.25100260
1BRANCH,Z45601914580530
8LANE,J35012816.7475160
4MARKS,W37052.33100140
2ROBINSON,D24903824.5210090
81FORD,K24504122.5450320
6LEMON,M1220222233320
88ELDRIDGE,K16066110030
0JOYNER,Q14044110050
10 RECEIVERS273781411436751880

Southern California Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
4MARKS,W16682174.3
0JOYNER,Q412053
7MOSS,M2-800-4
3 RUSHERS23692173

Southern California Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+
CZAPLICKI,E316655.35713

Southern California Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
M.Lantz2nd-04:2122GOOD
M.Lantz2nd-00:0029MISSED
M.Lantz3rd-07:1335GOOD
TOTAL2-3LONG OF 35

Southern California All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
BRANCH,Z10205646000
HUDSON,K830830000
MARKS,W756870002

Southern California Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
7K.Ramsey (S)95000000
13M.Cobb (LB)72001000
18E.Gentry75020100
2J.Smith (CB)63000000
4E.Mascarenas-Arnold (LB)62000000
0A.Arnold (S)51000000
14J.Covington (CB)44000000
21G.Vance Jr. (CB)43000000
19J.Humphrey31000000
34B.Shelby33010000
91G.Meyer (DT)30000000
99N.Clifton (DT)32000000
6A.Lucas (DE)21000000
17D.Nicholson22000000
10J.Muhammad (DE)10000000
24C.Pierce11000000
31H.Pepper10000000
58S.Tuliaupupu10000000
90B.Alexander11000000
97J.Abasiri10000000
TOTALS7036031100

Southern California Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
BRANCH,Z100000

Southern California Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
BRANCH,Z14646460
LEMON,M180880
TOTAL25427460

Southern California Team Stats By Quarter

1stRushPassCAITotYAvg3rdsPens
1st12-83-163-3-0244.80-10-0
2nd97-2313-16010-13-01839.22-31-15
3rd27-87-563-7-0644.61-43-25
4th127-3014-14611-14-01768.40-12-10
Total2423-6937-37827-37-04477.53-96-50

Southern California Scoring Summary

QtrClockScoreTypePlayDriveScore
211:00TDRUSHW.Marks 2 yd rush (PAT KICK by M.Lantz GOOD)8/87/3:490-7
204:21FGM.Lantz 22 yd Field Goal5/38/2:357-10
307:13FGM.Lantz 35 yd Field Goal9/59/4:1410-13
405:44TDPASSJ.Lane 28 yd reception thrown by M.Moss (PAT KICK by M.Lantz GOOD)3/64/1:1317-20
400:08TDRUSHW.Marks 13 yd rush (PAT KICK by M.Lantz GOOD)8/75/1:3920-27

Defensive Comparison

STATUSCLSU
TACKLES7063
Solo Tackles3627
Tackles for Loss37
TFL Yards-7-22
Pass Breakups17
QB Hurries00
Sacks02
Sacks Yards-0-8
Takeaways FR-INT0-10-0
Forced Fumbles02
Fumble Recoveries00
FR Yards00
Interceptions10
INT Yards00
TDs INT-FR0-00-0

LSU Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
13NUSSMEIER,G29-383042176155.6

LSU Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%YACDR
2LACY,K79412613.41070210
86TAYLOR,M7620158.9978490
1ANDERSON,A56414112.8683380
4DANIELS,C3190126.347530
0THOMAS,Z22301211.5367150
88PIMPTON,K11401414110080
22EMERY JR.,J11001010110080
28JACKSON,K19099110060
12PARKER,K16066110040
18WILLIAMS,J13033110010
10 RECEIVERS2930424110.538761530

LSU Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
22EMERY JR.,J10610396.1
18WILLIAMS,J9330123.7
28JACKSON,K618043
0THOMAS,Z15055
4 RUSHERS261170394.5

LSU Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+
TODD,P3114384010
OCHSENDORF,B139393910
TOTAL415338.34020

LSU Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
D.Ramos2nd-01:0845GOOD
D.Ramos4th-01:4731GOOD
TOTAL2-2LONG OF 45

LSU All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
LACY,K940940001
EMERY JR.,J7161100000
ANDERSON,A640640001

LSU Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
7H.Perkins Jr. (LB)8100.50000
6J.Allen (S)63000100
8M.Burns (S)63000000
40W.Weeks6301.50000
35S.Jones (DE)54220101
1A.Stamps (CB)43000200
3S.Ryan (DB)40000000
99G.Paez (DT)41010000
0P.Shand30010000
18G.Penn III (LB)32010001
33W.Weeks32000000
2J.Gilbert (S)21000000
4B.Swinson (DE)20000000
31J.Suggs20000100
15D.Womack10000100
17J.Brown11000000
23K.Jackson11000000
27A.Ausberry11000000
32A.Burrell11000000
11P.Woodland00000100
TOTALS6327270702

LSU Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
THOMAS,Z21608150

LSU Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
THOMAS,Z11616160
WILLIAMS,J11414140
TOTAL23015160

LSU Team Stats By Quarter

1stRushPassCAITotYAvg3rdsPens
1st79-2912-8110-12-01105.21-41-5
2nd74-1712-11010-12-01277.92-34-40
3rd57-685-404-5-010891-22-20
4th26-39-735-9-1765.11-43-34
Total2126-11738-30429-38-14216.65-1310-99

LSU Scoring Summary

QtrClockScoreTypePlayDriveScore
207:04TDPASSK.Lacy 19 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)9/75/3:567-7
201:08FGD.Ramos 45 yd Field Goal8/47/3:1310-10
303:42TDPASSA.Anderson 13 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)7/78/3:2517-13
401:47FGD.Ramos 31 yd Field Goal9/61/3:5720-20