Ahead of Sunday’s showdown with No. 18 LSU at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, an aura of uncertainty surrounded No. 13 USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s third year at the helm. The Trojans — coming off a wildly disappointing 8-5 campaign in 2023 — were sporting a first-time starting quarterback, a revamped skill group and a new defensive staff. One thing was clear: there would be a whole lot of eyes on Riley and his new-look squad.

63,969 fans took in USC’s (1-0) stunning 27-20 triumph over LSU (0-1) from the Mojave Desert, setting an attendance record at Allegiant Stadium — which hosted Super Bowl LVIII this February. A peak of 11.1 million more viewers took in the game on ABC as the Trojans clinched a statement win on the national stage.

“I think it’s an exciting game when you get a stage like that which is rare in college football. You got one day, there’s no NFL games and there’s not much else going on,” Riley said in a post-game press conference. “This was our day here on one of the biggest stages, so to show up like that — I know there were a lot of people watching.”

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The victory has the potential to serve as a real turning point for the program, not due to LSU’s ranking or the game’s viewership, but because the Trojans finally looked like a team with an identity and toughness. While redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss had an extremely impressive night — completing 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and a touchdown — the most crucial moments of the game for USC came on the defensive side of the ball.

First-year USC Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn’s unit came up huge throughout the night, sending a message that this year’s Trojan defense has a boldness and resiliency that was missing during the first two years of Riley’s tenure.

On LSU’s first drive of the game, after a grueling 74-yard drive, including a fourth-down conversion, the Tiger offense opted to go for it again on fourth and goal from the 3-yard line. Rather than play it safe, Lynn opted to send extra pressure at LSU junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, and it paid off. USC redshirt senior linebacker Mason Cobb bulleted through the A-gap, forcing Nussmeier to throw the ball out of bounds and hand possession back to the Trojans.

From the opening series of the season, Lynn sent a message that he trusts his personnel. While the Trojan defense may bend, it will not immediately panic and break. 

Another key juncture came in the fourth quarter when a USC offense that was making SportsCenter Top 10-worthy highlights in the first half suddenly became lifeless and anemic. After Riley burned two crucial second-half timeouts and Moss sent two passes straight into the long arms of Tiger defensive linemen, the Trojans turned the ball over on downs with 8:38 remaining.

USC had mustered just three points from its first four drives of the second half, and the seemingly never-ending number of Tiger fans that made the trip to Vegas were deafening the stadium. 

“Once you strap up and it’s time to go, then the outside noise really doesn’t affect you as much as you would think, especially as a defense,” said senior linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. “We’re all communicating, we’re all focused on our main mission…which at that point was to finish the drive and get a stop.”

Trailing for the first time and facing a heartbreaking opening defeat, the USC defense buckled down, forcing a three-and-out after a huge tackle for loss by senior linebacker Eric Gentry. It was one of several enormous stops on the night, as the LSU offense went just 5/13 on third down.

The USC offense was galvanized by the defensive effort, finding the end zone on its next two possessions to retake the lead. Lynn’s defense was far from perfect — Nussmeier was able to operate far too easily in the quick passing game, and there were a few huge coverage busts, but the Trojan defensive line competed exceptionally well in the trenches.

USC held a Tiger rushing attack led by multiple projected first-round draft picks on the offensive line per ESPN to just a 31% success rate (anything below 40 is considered below average). The lack of a running game put all the pressure on Nussmeier, who played well but could not carry a one-dimensional LSU offense to victory. The Trojans’ defensive execution may have been flawed at times, but their performance was gritty enough to get the job done.

“I think the entire game [on defense] was not up to our standard,” Mascarenas-Arnold said. “But the good news is if that’s the worst we’re going to play all season against one of the better teams we will play, I think that’s a good sign that we’re on an upward trend.”

The story of Moss’ night was actually very similar. It was imperfect: he struggled to see pressure at times, he didn’t always make it through his progressions quickly enough and it remains unclear how much trust Riley has in him.

But when the big moments came, it was easy to see how he had won over the entire Trojan roster and coaching staff. Getting the ball back tied at 20 with 1:47 remaining, Moss stayed composed, completing five of six passes (to four different receivers) for 44 yards and marching the USC offense down the field to score the game-winning touchdown.

By starting their season with such an impressive win, the Trojans have indicated that they have the physicality and discipline required to enter their grueling new conference.

“That was some pretty good Big Ten football today,” Riley said.

USC will aim to build on its momentum in its home opener Saturday at 8 p.m., as it hosts Utah State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.