Woody Marks rushed for two touchdowns, including a tiebreaking 13-yard dash with eight seconds remaining, to give No. 23 Southern California a 27-20 victory over No. 13 LSU in the season opener for both teams Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Damian Ramos kicked a 31-yard field goal to pull LSU even with 1:47 left, but Miller Moss’ 20-yard completion to Kyron Hudson and Jardin Gilbert’s targeting penalty while tackling Hudson set up Marks’ winning score.
Moss, a redshirt junior making his second career start as the successor to No. 1 overall NFL Draft choice Caleb Williams, completed 27 of 36 attempts for 378 yards. His 28-yard scoring pass to Ja’Kobi Lane gave the Trojans a 20-17 lead with 5:44 left in the game.
LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, a redshirt junior making his second start as the successor to Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, completed 29 of 38 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Michael Lantz kicked a 35-yard field goal to give USC a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
Nussmeier threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Anderson to give LSU its first lead of the game, 17-13 late in the third quarter.
LSU received the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in 13 plays but didn’t score after Nussmeier threw an incomplete pass under pressure on fourth-and-goal at 3, and the game remained scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
USC drove 87 yards and took a 7-0 lead on Marks’ 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. On the ensuing possession, Nussmeier threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy to tie the score.
Lantz broke the tie by kicking a 22-yard field goal for the Trojans before Ramos answered with a 45-yard field goal that produced a 10-10 tie with 1:08 left in the second quarter.
Moss drove USC 63 yards in barely a minute, but Lantz missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt, leaving the score tied at halftime.
–Field Level Media
