Epic Clash: Trojans, LSU Make Way for Sin City

© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

At 7:30 p.m. EST on Sept. 1, the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers kick off their 2024 campaigns in a much-anticipated clash at Allegiant Stadium in the Vegas Kickoff Classic in Las Vegas. The two heavyweight programs represent the two preeminent conferences in the reconfigured college football landscape. ABC is broadcasting the game live.

LSU has long been a Southeastern Conference stalwart. After more than a century in the Pac-12 Conference, the Trojans commence their inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference.

The meeting between the Trojans and Bayou Bengals is an intersectional contest between two teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) preseason top 25 poll—LSU at No. 13 and USC at No. 23.

The Trojans and Bayou Bengals have only played twice head-to-head, with each team prevailing once. USC beat LSU 17-12 in 1979 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., and the Tigers whipped the Trojans 23-3 in 1984 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The 1979 Trojans team finished its season with an 11-0-1 record, ranked No. 2 in both the AP poll and United Press International (UPI) Coaches poll. The 1984 LSU team finished the season with an 8-3-1 record, falling to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sugar Bowl.

The Trojans and Tigers have both made 55 appearances in bowl games. Ohio State has made the same number of bowl appearances. The only schools with more bowl appearances are Alabama (77), Georgia (62), Texas (59), Oklahoma (57) and Tennessee (56).

© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The last split national championship in college football was back in the 2003 season. The Trojans and Tigers shared claims to the crown, with USC voted No. 1 in the AP poll and LSU declared No. 1 by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The Trojans' lone loss came early in the 2023 season to Cal in a game played at Berkeley, Calif., but USC then ran the table, finishing 12-1 with a Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. The Tigers' only hiccup was a defeat at the hands of the Florida Gators in Baton Rouge. LSU out-dueled Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl and completed the season with a 13-1 record.

Thus, the Trojans and Tigers stack up quite evenly in terms of historic performance.

LSU Tigers

College Football Network rates the Tigers' 2024 strength of schedule No. 23 out of the 134 FBS teams. Here is the Bayou Bengals' full 2024 schedule:

• Sept. 1: at Las Vegas, USC

• Sept. 7: Nicholls

• Sept. 14: at South Carolina

• Sept. 21: UCLA

• Sept. 28: South Alabama

• Oct. 12: Ole Miss

• Oct. 19: at Arkansas

• Oct. 26: at Texas A&M

• Nov. 9: Alabama

• Nov. 16: at Florida

• Nov. 23: Vanderbilt

• Nov. 30: Oklahoma

Notably, this 12-game schedule involves only four true away games and one neutral-field matchup against USC.

LSU brings in a promising quarterback who delivered an impressive performance for the Tigers in their 35-31 victory over Wisconsin in the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl. Redshirt junior Garrett Nussmeier earned MVP honors for his stellar play in that game, highlighted by finishing the game with 31-of-45 for 395 yards passing with 3 touchdowns. Although two of the Tigers' wide receivers from last year's squad were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft (Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.), LSU's wide receiver room remains stocked with ample talent. Thus, Nussmeier will not be short of talented targets this season.

Like the Trojans, LSU struggled defensively in 2023. However, the 2024 version of the Bayou Bengals features star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., who has been named to the Bednarik, Butkus and Walter Camp Award watch lists. The Tigers are counting on Perkins to lead an improved defensive effort in 2024.

USC Trojans

College Football Network rates USC's 2024 strength of schedule at No. 8 in the nation. Here's a look at the Trojans' docket:

• Sept. 1: at Las Vegas, LSU

• Sept. 7: Utah State

• Sept. 21: at Michigan

• Sept. 28: Wisconsin

• Oct. 5: at Minnesota

• Oct. 12: Penn State

• Oct. 19: at Maryland

• Oct. 25: Rutgers

• Nov. 2: at Washington

• Nov. 16: Nebraska

• Nov. 23: at UCLA

• Nov. 30: Notre Dame

Like the Tigers, USC's schedule only features four true away games. The matchup with LSU is in Vegas, and while the UCLA game is technically designated as an away game, the Rose Bowl, where the Bruins play their home games, is only a hop, skip and jump away from the USC campus, and relatively equal numbers of the teams' fans show up at the historic stadium in Pasadena, Calif.

For USC to be successful in 2024, the team must pick up the level of play on defense.

Coach Lincoln Riley took steps in the offseason to strengthen the team's defense, revamping the entire defensive coaching staff and acquiring multiple players through the Transfer Portal.

Riley poached defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn from USC's cross-town rival, the UCLA Bruins. Lynn led UCLA's defense to a No. 14 national ranking last year. Riley also brought in Eric Henderson as the Trojans' defensive line coach. Henderson is a major asset, as he was the defensive line coach of the Super Bowl LVI-winning Los Angeles Rams team. Henderson has a terrific relationship with Aaron Donald, who has participated in recent USC recruiting events. Riley also brought in highly respected coaches Matt Entz and Doug Belk. Entz led the North Dakota State Bison to two FCS national championships and will spearhead the Trojans' linebacker room. Belk is a rising star who will head up the Trojans' secondary after serving as defensive coordinator for the Houston Cougars.

Along with the new defensive brain trust, USC has a bevy of talented new players on defense. Joining Bear Alexander, who anchors the defensive line, are free safety Kamari Ramsey, strong safety Akili Arnold, cornerback John Humphrey, linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and defensive tackle Nate Clifton. Ramsey and Humphrey transferred from UCLA, following Lynn across town. Brothers Arnold and Mascarenas-Arnold transferred from Oregon State. Clifton is a graduate transfer from Vanderbilt.

Ramsey has been named to the 2024 Lott IMPACT Watch List. Clifton was a team captain at Vanderbilt in 2023. And, Mascarenas-Arnold was first-team All-Pac 12 Conference last year.

Overview

On3 rates the LSU-USC tilt as one of the top-10 nonconference matchups in 2024.

Although the last two Heisman Trophy winners are gone from last year's LSU and USC rosters (Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels), both teams have reloaded. Their meeting in Vegas will be an exciting start to the season.

Per the sports book at FanDuel the spread is 4.5 points, in favor of LSU.