LSU Wire Roundtable: Staff makes its picks for season-opener against USC in Las Vegas

After months of discussion, practice and waiting, it’s finally time to begin the 2024 college football season.

LSU will be opening its campaign in the standalone Sunday night game in Week 1 as it heads to Las Vegas to take on USC at Allegiant Stadium in a battle of preseason ranked opponents that still face quite a few questions entering the season.

The winner will get a nice springboard into a tough conference schedule as the two College Football Playoff hopefuls look to separate themselves early. The loser will have to overcome an early slump as the schedule doesn’t get any easier.

Here’s how our staff here at LSU Wire sees the game vs. the Trojans playing out as the Tigers look to capture their first season-opening win since 2019.

Tyler Nettuno, Managing Editor

This may be the toughest game on the entire Week 1 slate to predict. Both these teams have so many questions, and they come in similar areas. USC did more in the offseason to improve a shoddy defense than LSU did, and both have questions on offense as Heisman-winning quarterbacks move on. But even with the losses, I believe in this LSU offense and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag]. I’m skeptical about the rest, but that’s enough for me to give the Tigers the edge here.

Prediction: LSU 31, USC 24

Will Rosenblatt, Staff Writer

LSU hasn’t won a season opener since 2019. LSU’s managed 10-win in Brian Kelly’s first two years, but two season-opening losses to Florida State put LSU behind the eight ball. This year, LSU is looking to flip that script and buy some margin for error with a Week 1 win. Replacing [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] won’t come easy, but Garrett Nussmeier is ready for his chance to lead the offense. The defense will struggle, but Blake Baker’s aggressive play-calling will lead to some negative plays for USC.

Prediction: LSU 31, USC 26

Kyle Richardson, Staff Writer

I am a firm believer in the LSU offense this year and I think that Blake Baker will improve the defense in a huge way this fall.

Prediction: LSU 56, USC 35

Composite Prediction

Prediction: LSU 39, USC 28

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This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU Wire Roundtable: Staff makes its picks for season-opener against USC in Las Vegas