From offensive juggernauts to defensive strongholds, USC and LSU have turned a page

Yes, fans could have, or maybe should have, seen the tide shifting when star quarterbacks Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams left their collegiate programs for the NFL.

At the end of the day, without a Heisman winner holding the reigns of your offense, what do you expect your team to produce?

However, ahead of the season, the USC Trojans and the LSU Tigers earned spots in the top 25 – No. 23 and No. 13 teams in the country, respectively.

To top it all off, the two teams, led by new starting quarterbacks, met to kick off the 2024 season.

As LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and USC's Miller Moss took the field with their offenses, people were expecting fireworks.

Instead, fans and foes alike were treated to defensive powerhouses throughout the night.

Neither quarterback had a bad game, far from it in fact, as long as you can ignore Nussmeier's interception, which was slightly difficult to do.

Moss ended up completing 27 of his 36 pass attempts for 378 yards and 1 touchdown through the air. Nussmeier completed 29 of his 38 attempts for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns.

However, the high powered offenses of LSU and USC are gone.

The game ended with a final score of 27-20, the Trojans walking away victorious.

At halftime, each team had only scored a minimal 10 points and had both been stopped on third or fourth down attempts, numerous times.

The Tigers only converted 5 of their 13 attempts on third down and went 1 for 2 for fourth down efficiency.

USC was slightly more successful on third down, going 3 for nine, but failed to convert on their singular fourth down attempt.

In total, the Trojans earned just 450 total yards on offense while LSU only had 421 total yards.

The Trojans had 6 penalties called against them for a loss of 50 yards and the Tigers were called for a whopping 10 penalties, resulting in 99 lost yards.

Nussmeier's interception was the only turnover of the game if you don't count the turnovers on downs.

Overall, the season opener between the LSU Tigers and USC Trojans was defensively focused, something neither program is used to.

USC faces Utah State at home next week while the Tigers return to Baton Rouge to host Nicholls.

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