Woody Marks’ TD with 8 seconds left gives No. 23 USC a 27-20 win over No. 13 LSU


Woody Marks gave USC a big win over LSU to open the 2024 college football season. (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

USC running back Woody Marks bowled his way into the end zone with eight seconds left to give the No. 23 Trojans a 27-20 win over No. 13 LSU in Las Vegas on Sunday night.

The Trojans got the ball back with 1:47 to go after LSU tied the game on a field goal by Damien Ramos. USC calmly drove down the field despite having just one timeout and got the opportunity for the game-winning score when Miller Moss found Kyron Hudson along the sideline with 13 seconds to go.

Hudson got hit inside the 30 and LSU’s Jardin Gilbert was flagged for targeting on the hit. Gilbert’s helmet-to-helmet contact moved the ball inside the 20 and set up Marks’ 14-yard TD as it appeared that USC would be playing for a game-winning field goal attempt.

LSU had one last-gasp chance after Marks’ TD, but QB Garrett Nussmeier was picked off by Mason Cobb on the Tigers’ first play of the drive.

In a stat that seems too wild to be real, Sunday night’s loss is the fifth consecutive Week 1 defeat for LSU since the Tigers went undefeated in 2019 on the way to a national title.

LSU opened the 2020 season with a 44-34 loss at home to Mississippi State and followed that up with a 38-27 loss at UCLA to start the 2021 season. The first game of the Brian Kelly era started with a missed extra point and a 24-23 loss to Florida State in New Orleans, and the Seminoles beat the Tigers again by 21 points in 2023 on the way to an undefeated season.

The Tigers have been scheduling big Week 1 contests thanks to the massive paydays that come with neutral site games and the College Football Playoff’s increased importance on non-conference wins. With the playoff expanding to 12 teams this season, LSU…


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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-02 03:14:52

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