USC-LSU PREVIEW, 18-0 Big Ten Week 1, B1GGEST Offseason Moments | B1G Nation

Cold Open it's the big 10 game of the week 23rd ranked USC 13th ranked LSU meet in Las Vegas Nevada to kick off the season in what should be an extremely fun duel in the desert we've got that preview and much more let's get it rolling this is big nation from Pasadena to Piscataway Open College Park to the Coliseum Seattle to State College Columbus to Camp Randall the zoo to the Rock and everywhere in between this is where Big 10 fans gather to talk America's Premier National Conference with your host Big 10 Ted all big 10 all year long this is big nation we're starting things off a little bit earlier today because in a Intro handful of hours I'm driving 20 to 25 minutes down the road to huntingon Bank Stadium Minnesota and North Carolina we have finally made it to Game Day within the Big 10 Conference football is finally back going to kick things off 7 Eastern 6:00 Central ruter in action on Big 10 Network against the Howard bison of course that game on Fox Minnesota and North Carolina Illinois Eastern Illinois as well on a Thursday night and we've got a week two opponent for a big 10 team a very high-profile game of course Colorado and North Dakota State also in action we got a lot of really good games here tonight Thursday night welcome to another edition of big nation so here's what I want to chat about today not only USC and LSU that preview that is going to be the heart and soul of this edition of big nation I'm going to break this one down and then I'm going to be talking to Ryan Abraham of USC foot.com over at 247 Sports and their Network to kind of go in depth a little bit more on this Trojans and tigers matchup as well you know now that we're mere hours from football games kicking off in the Big 10 conference it's time to look back on the off season what are some moments what are some big story storylines that not only shaped this 2024 season but also shape the Big 10 for Beyond this season as well into to the Future the Big 10 all every single Big 10 game is in action every single Big 10 team is in action with the game to kick off this season here in week number one what would it mean for every Big 10 team to come home with a W in week number one going to be chatting about that as well but before I do it's kind of time to get into some news and notes around the Big 10 I want to start first in Iowa City Kamari Moulton RB1 at Iowa it's not Caleb Johnson it's not Jess Patterson it's not lean Williams being rb1 in the very first Iowa Hawkeye depth chart it is red shirt freshman Kamari Molton and there's so many dominoes I think that fall out of this decision to put Kamari at the top so you have three running backs that I just mentioned that have all had really good games in of their own right against certain opponents Purdue the last couple of years for Caleb Johnson you look at Leon Williams last year great game against Johson you look at the Iowa State game last year for jazz Patterson as well but none of those guys really stepped up on a consistent basis to be the guy to be rb1 in Iowa City Kamari Molton was running some scout team stuff last year there were flashes and we talked if you watch the Iowa preview with Elliot kluf of the Hawkeye Beacon at Iowa Rivals he mentioned keep an eye on Kamari Molton in this running back room not only did we keep an eye on him the Iowa coaching staff kept many eyes on him as Liddell Betts Tim Lester Kirk ference they were all very impressed what he brought to the table and now he's rb1 that just adds that much more depth to that running back room right you talk about having those three running backs those that depth right in the conference like the big 10 where you're going to be physical you're going to go through some injuries they got four guys that can be starting uh that can be starting running backs right now in Iowa City the smoke out of Eastern Iowa right now is that offensive line is yelling together that offensive line is very much improved and that this is an offense that wants to be predicated and focused on the Run game I talked about it on Tuesday's show right what's a week one goal for the Iowa Haw guys for Tim Lester it's about forming an identity of what you are as an offense Tim Lester said in his press availability he wants to run the football he wants to be a team that is a run first football team he says yeah in a perfect world we're going 50/50 but we need to be able to run the football we need to be able to do that for our offense to reach its potential uh in 2024 now maybe Iowa has that true rb1 he's young maybe there might be some Growing Pains early in the season but the good news for Iowa if that is the case they do have that depth in that room Tim Lester also in his press availability maybe comparing a a little bit to Aaron Jones when he was able to return for the Green Bay Packers of course Tim Lester was an analyst for the Packers uh last season so hey that's that that's pretty good company that's pretty good company to be in so if Iowa can really get that run game going I think this offense is going to improve a lot and if that offensive line is as good as some people say it is remember it's been pretty young the last few years they were thrown into situations as young players to be able to develop and now they're upper classman and now they're seniors can that offensive line be like an Iowa offensive line of old that'll certainly help that run game getting going early in the season let's head to Will Rogers QB at Washington more depth chart news and let's head to Seattle Washington for this now nothing was official but we all basically knew that Will Rogers was going to be the starting quarterback the first depth chart has been released by Jed fish and Company and Will Rogers is at the top uh right there now when I look at what Washington needs to do to get the most out of Will Rogers uh I look at a variety of things first you got to play into Will Rogers skill set okay when you look at Washington last season and the year before with klin dor Ryan grub Michael penx Jr and they're cutting it Loose down the field right they've got a generational wide receiver room that can stretch the field they can get deep and Michael penx can just rear back and Chuck it long and they can make big plays down the field that's not going to be Washington's offense all right for for a couple of different reasons first of all Will Rogers that's not really his skill set to Chuck a deep he's an efficient passing type of quarterback short to medium passing Concepts get the ball in space to The Playmakers and let them do their thing now he's coming from that air raid system at Mississippi State and now maybe maybe a more cerebral type of system decision-based type of system in this RPO heavy type of scheme with Jed fish and Brendan Carrol as well so it's going to be interesting to see how Will Rogers makes that adjustment um over there as well and then so you look at that and Will Rogers and his skill set and maybe the offense that he's going to be asked to perform in and then you look at the big questions up front on the offensive line okay they might be forced to make quick decisions to try to neutralize with maybe some inexperience and maybe some question marks up front on the offensive line that maybe it's certainly not as good as last year's offensive line the Joe Moore award winning offensive line at the University of Washington but they've got players that can make plays I think in the open field right they have a Denzel Boston they have a Jeremiah Hunter even Giles Jackson right who was on this team last year and I like what we talked about that RPO game I love what they have in the backfield right Jonah colan and C Davis here for Washington so if they can find a way to design their offense Maybe the offensive line if they have concerns up front I think the bits and pieces they fit they fit in to making those quick decisions to making those quick reads and moving the football down the field that way so husky fans your offense might look a little bit different here this season now on this program you know on this Matt Rhule NOT easting in Dylan Raiola program before I talked about early season easing in of Dylan riola I said hey I think think they're going to be they're going to really try to Pound The Run game I think they match up well in a lot of these early season matchups at the line of scrimmage and maybe they'll ease Dylan riola in throwing the football down the field Matt rule though well he's got different ideas no no we're not thinking that way at all no no uh I'd rather I'd rather lose the first game than the last game so we're not going to ease into it we're going to play we're going to play yeah Dylan's going to play he's going to play the plays right he's going to when we call drop back he's go back there take his drop go through his progression just how we want him to play when he's a junior we're going to start day one that way we're not easing into anything man confidence Matt rule ooes confidence I think by that statement when he's talking about Dylan Rola and it's got to excite Nebraska Corn Husker fans a lot when you hear that about a true freshman quarterback says yeah we're not going to ease them in we're going to let it rip down the field that this is going to be a balanced offense that hey maybe big tented isn't our offensive coordinator it's Marcus edfield right we're going to be a little bit more balanced we're going to Chuck it down the field a little bit to keep some of these defenses off Balan early in the season and then when Dylan rioli hears that from his head coach he's got to think yeah he's got to take that confidence I think to another level right because Dylan riola I'm sure is a very confident guy already and then to be able to hear that from your head coach that kind of makes you feel that much better better that you are going to be the guy within this offense to really maybe take it to that next level I'm excited to really see what they do with Dylan in the season opener against UTEP and how that carries over to week number two in that big time Prime Time game against the Colorado Buffalo because if they can stretch the field with jayen lyd down the field if they can stretch the field at the tight end position with Thomas vidon and then I've talked about the great interior offensive line for the Nebraska Corn Huskers and the depth in this running back room this is an offense I think that could be very good very good uh in 2024 but it's all about the confidence that is oozing out of that sound bite from Matt Rule and the confidence that is going to be able to transfer over to Dylan riola I have a very good feeling about that let's finish our news and notes by talking about the Michigan Wolverines now 2 QB System for Michigan? sometimes you say when you have two quarterbacks you have no quarterbacks does rone Moore agree well let's find out from him what's your philosophy on playing two quarterbacks and there's a lot of people that don't like it yeah I've been a part of it been a part of a here seen it work seeing it not work so we're just going to do whatever it takes to win I don't think there's really a yes or no or what's better what's not you go back to the years of Tim tibo and Chris leak worked out pretty well for them but there's teams that have done it and haven't worked out well so we'll just figure out what's our best formula to win I think Alex or ggie is just too good of a weapon to leave on the field and a two quarterback system in an Arbor Michigan really intrigues me it really interests me because we know all about the weapon we know all about the running ability the legs of Alex orgy and then you were able to see in the spring game the arm of Davis Warren by the way his story as a walk- on to be able to come into this program and now Elevate to this level it's a fantastic uh case study of work ethic to be able to get to this point so really happy for Davis Warren that he's certainly in this position but to be able to put out a passer like Davis Warren to be able to put out the rushing ability and design QB run ability of Alex orgy in two different sets I think could keep defensive coordinators up at night it could certainly keep them off balance because I think a lot of people they look at it from a broad point of view and they say look at all the offensive line that you lost you lost Blake corm uh you lost Roman Wilson you lost Cornelius Johnson you lost JJ McCarthy like you lost all of this on offense but when you dive into this team the 2024 Michigan Wolverine Squad what do you see I think you see an offensive line that at the very least is really really good it could be great will it be elite like it was winning two Joe Moore Awards two out of the last three seasons I don't know if it'll get to that level but from all I'm hearing hearing out of an Arbor Michigan it is a really really good offensive line with some good pieces certainly up front and then Donovan Edwards right he's come through in the big games this is a guy that certainly can be a 1,00 yard back this is a guy that can certainly lead the Big 10 and rushing coulston Loveland like there are things to work with certainly on this Michigan offense and a two quarterback system could be an interesting wrinkle for Michigan to to get the most out of that position as well now they don't need JJ McCarthy okay they don't need the quarterback to save them on Third and eights and third and sevens and to be able to push the football down the field right this is an offense that needs to be like 2016 Wilton Spate and 2021 Kade mcem those are the numbers that's the type of production if they can lean on the Run game if they can lean on one of the nation's best defenses on the other side this is a team that can win 10 games with that formula I truly believe it I truly believe it so a two two quarterback system at Michigan will it go the entire season with two quarterbacks that remains to be seen and I'm very curious if they go that route but if they go in the direction of Davis Warren Alex orgy is certainly still going to be able to see the football field some interesting happenings at some of these key positions for teams within the Big 10 now we are mere hours away from the beginning from official football when ball meets boo offenses takes the field so in these last few hours I want to take some time B1GGEST Offseason Storylines to look back on some very key happenings that happened this off seon that set the toone not only for the 2024 Big 10 football season but also future Big 10 football seasons as well I think the first thing that we need to talk about is the grass being damn green in Eugene when Nick Sabin retired there was a earthquake effect right through all of college football of course those two tectonic plates coming together that was Nick sabbin announcing his retirement and then those effects that happen off of the earthquake were some of the things that happened as a result we're actually going to get to more of those effects uh in the segment that's how big that announcement was but at the top of Alabama's list sat Dan landing and and there were what we now know ended up being false reports that Dan Lanning was in Tuscaloosa but him staying at the University of Oregon was such a huge move now you've got this Oregon Ducks program that when you look at recent history guys like Chip Kelly guys like Willie tiger guys like Mario cristall that have gone to bigger and better things or at least it was viewed that way bigger and better things by them the folks that were leaving and maybe Oregon got this reputation whether it was completely true or deserved or not but they got this reputation that they might be a little bit of a stepping stone job and Oregon fans were maybe afraid that this would happen again if Dan Lanning would make his way to Tuscaloosa Alabama but when that video came out and the announcement was made that Dan Lanning says I'm staying put the grass is damn green in Eugene I think that took Oregon's football program to another Stratosphere okay it installed that one of the best coaches in America is turning down a 20-year Dynasty that Nick sabbin built and success on a platter in the SEC and he's saying nope I'm staying with the Oregon Duck so Oregon not only gets that boost by keeping one of the best coaches in America of course moving to a power two conference uh in the Big 10 going to be playing some bigger and batter matchups on a yearly basis on that schedule this result Dan Lanning staying in Eugene took Oregon to a tier one college football job I think when we look back in 20 years in 30 years we can look at this as the turning point that made this Oregon job in the same breath as Texas as Notre Dame as Michigan as Ohio State right as some of these great programs within college football Dan Lanning remaining in Eugene I think really turned a corner of what this Oregon program can be and what this Oregon program could do but maybe they're not done in 2024 setting new benchmarks at the University of Oregon either let's move on to the next one and talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes pushing all of their chips to the center of the table the most motivated football team in the country resides in Columbus Ohio now on the graphic for those of you on video you're looking at three Acquisitions you're looking at Caleb DS you're looking at will Howard and you're looking at Chip Kelly of course all three of those certainly have their own effect on the outcome of what the Ohio State Buckeye season is going to be and them pushing their chips to the table spending over 20 million doll on this roster of course a big part of it is going to be focused on the Acquisitions but I think an even bigger part of it is those that are not pictured in this graphic guys that could have went to the National Football League guys like JT tuy moell guys like Jack Sawyer guys in that secondary right all of these guys and then not also not even pictured here quinon Judkins because the graphic is only so large right so everything being pushed to the middle of the table they are sick and tired of losing to the University of Michigan a big storyline this off season is Ohio State pushing it to the center of the table to get that first national championship since 2014 it's been 10 years since that initial four team college football playoff victory for these Ohio State Buck guys let's move on to Lincoln Nebraska now this was Nebraska's off season it wasn't the off season for a lot of teams that went bowling that went to the college football playoff like the Michigan Wolverines but it was the offseason for Nebraska right this happened on national Signing Day the early Signing Day when Dylan riola flipped from Georgia to Nebraska okay Matt rule is implementing his vision at the University of Nebraska and in order for him to get that success like he had at Temple to get that success like he had at Baylor right that 11- win season in 2019 with the Bears in the Big 12 to be able to get to that level when you're at a power two School you need a quarterback to build around and being able to flip a five-star from the best of the best program and the best of the best coach in college football now of course the Legacy Factor at Nebraska certainly helps having his uncle on staff certainly helps as well but when you look look at the future of Nebraska football and to be able to get back to that nine win level to be able to get to that 10- win level right this is Nebraska after all this fan base whether some view that as delusion or whether it's realistic or not this fan base expects we need to be in the Big 10 Championship conversation we need to be in the college football playoff conversation in order to do that you needed to go out and you need to be able to get a quarterback you needed a piece to be able to build around this is that piece this is the proof of concept this is the proof of the vision of Matt rule that say we can bring in great talent when this happened I said this isn't going to be it Nebraska they might not sign every five-star kid but they're going to be they're going to have their hats on the table they're going to be in the final three they're going to be in the final four and this is going to boost this program now they still need to win on the football field they had a hat on the table when five-star offensive tackle David Sanders was choosing his school now David Sanders eventually chose Tennessee but being in that battle will help the image of this Nebraska football program having a quarterback right this is hasn't exactly been qbu at Nebraska having a guy like Dylan riola and having that piece having that face of the program is something that I think could flip Nebraska to what they've been to what they could be and maybe most importantly what the fans in Lincoln think that this program can be as well biggest offseason moves and storylines and moments is not a team it's a conference wide connection with the other big bat in the room so to speak the other big piece of lumber and that's the SEC in the spring the Big 10 and the SEC formed an advisory committee with each other right the Unholy Alliance well don't call it an alliance because you go back to the Kevin Warren era of the Big 10 conference and that's when you had the alliance with the ACC the Pack 12 and the Big 10 right they wanted to form a voting block to try to counter the power that the SEC had now you enter Tony petiti as the commissioner of this great conference and now he looks around at the situation he looks around at the everchanging landscape of College athletics and says well hey Greg why don't we just work together we're more similar than we think we're more similar than we are different we're the two biggest earners in college sports we house now with this latest round of realignment we house the biggest and the baddest brands in college football if we work together we are stronger together and we are are going to be able to control the future of the sport for those of you on video the background is a shot of the college football playoff logo on the field at the latest college football playoff there's a reason for that is because these two teams now that they are working together with presidents chancellors athletic directors Etc in that room they control the future of the cfp there have been rumors and there is almost an expectation at this point that the college football playoff is is going to expand from 12 teams to 14 teams why do you think the Big 10 in the SEC wants that to happen because there's two buys they protect their conference Championship Games The Big 10 and the SEC champ in that model most of the time at least 99.999% of the time would have those two Champions get that by as well and protect that championship game that they have as being so important as well coming up on the other side it's the big 10 game of the week the USC Trojans and LSU Tigers meet in Las Vegas in a week one Showdown I'm going to be breaking it down and then Ryan Abraham from USCF foot.com is going to be joining me as well to go into more detail that on the other side of these big B1G Facts facts all right now things are about to get real spicy it is the Big 10 game of USC-LSU Preview the week this is the game that I am most excited about a battle the only big 10 battle featuring a ranked opponent versus a ranked opponent in Sin City the number 13 LSU Tigers will battle the 23rd ranked USC Trojans you know the more I research this football game the more I dive into this matchup and really break this one down start to dissect it a little bit the more interested I am in this one and the more mysterious maybe this game really becomes between these two teams that are mirror images of each other I've been calling that the Spider-Man meme of college football games you have these are the two schools that have produced the last two Heisman Trophy winners both of these defenses were terrible last year both of these teams have completely retooled their defensive coaching staffs both teams have quarterbacks that have waited their turn in the ER of the transfer portal where they had transfers that jumped above them and now they've waited their turn to become the starting quarterbacks for these respective great programs I could go on and on and on about the similarities between Lincoln Riley's USC Trojans and Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers and those similarities and what they've done to try to get ready for this game makes this game just so fun to break down now there's one particular matchup that that I have my eye on and USC's got to find a way for that for LSU to not completely dominate in this particular matchup I want to first start with the LSU offensive line on three power ranked the top 10 offensive lines in college football during the off season you know was number one these LSU Tigers a big reason why is they have two first round draft picks at both tackles Will Campbell on one side emry Jones on the other side not just that they returned four of the Five Guys on this offensive line that protected and run blocked right because Jaden Daniels rushed for over 1100 yards last season they did all of that for the Heisman Trophy winner last year you look at the middle of this offensive line guards mil Frasier and Garrett delinger also return up front it's only Center where they have to replace somebody up front now when you look at the USC defense of of course this is a defense that's coming off a lot of problems from last year but you start to look at this particular football team and what the weakness of this defense is it's the defensive front outside of be Alexander there's some questions about that starting line and there's some certain B bigger questions about the depth on the defensive line as well once you start to get outside of be Alexander you know you get Gavin Meyer who transferred in you get Nate Clifton who's on this team and in the middle as well like these are question marks how they're going to be able to go head-to-head toe totoe face to face nose to nose mask to mask with an offensive line like the LSU Tigers in the media availability this week will Campbell was talking he was not pulling any punches he's saying we're going to be physical we're going to run the football all right so USC has to find a way to combat that look you're not going to stop them from Road grading and getting theirs on the ground look I look at this USC front I look at this USC attack even though Danton Lin did a great job last year putting pressure on the quarterback he had the highest drafted player in this past year's NFL Draft latu latu he had really good talent rushing the passer over there at UCLA in USC's very first game I just don't see that front group putting a ton of pressure on Garrett nus racking up something like four five or six sacks in this game not saying it can happen I I just don't see it the way this matchup really breaks down right now so what does Danton Lynn have to do how can he combat that of course you're not just going to surrender the line of scrimmage to the LSC Tigers well I think you need to get creative in your front right you need to put two guys on the line of scrimmage three guys on the line of scrimmage four five guys right and if you look back at Danton Lynn and what he was able to do at UCLA there were multiple times where he put a different number of guys up there on the defensive line so you've got to try to confuse LSU up front with different defensive fronts different stunts different packages up front and who exactly is up there as well so nothing is the same because what they're seeing from USC I think is a little bit different maybe some that they might not be the most ready for you have to keep them on their toes throughout this game at least to be able to get pressure on Garrett nus me now when you talk about defending the run I think you got to bring bodies up to the line of scrimmage like when you look at this linebacker group for USC I think a guy like Easton mascarenes Arnold could be an all big 10 linebacker this season so and then if you look at how that relates to the defensive line up front there's a possibility that all this defensive line has to do is just eat up blocks let the linebackers flow to the football in the Run game and let them make plays because you can't you just can't have LSU dominate you can't have LSU rush for 250 and 300 and just Pound The Rock and Pound The Rock and pound the rock look you're not going to completely stifle them their offensive line is just too good but you just need to be able to contain this LSU Run game when you look at LSU in the backfield of course last year they were LED in rushing 1,000 yard rusher jayen Daniels from the quarterback position uh you look at this running back room it looks like it's by committee right now Caleb Jackson Josh Williams and John Emer are in that back field right now none of those guys really stuck out and really popped last year because of what they had from Jaden Daniels rushing the football from the quarterback position so it's a relative unknown how good one two or three all of those guys are really going to be this season so you got to hope that they don't break out too many big runs in the Run game because we know how this offense can do throwing the football and if they can also balance that out with the Run game that could equal disaster possibly for this USC defense as well now let's talk about this LSU pass game a little bit of course Garrett nuser comes in at quarterback this guy's got an NFL arm all right he he's he was highly recruited for a reason he's stuck around for a reason to be able to be in Brian Kelly system had success in Brian Kelly system as well okay you lose Malik neighbors you lose Brian Thomas those are first round NFL draft picks just about any year you're going to take a step down at that position in that room so who replaces those guys for LSU you're looking at kyen Lacy 558 yards seven touchdowns last season you're looking at Chris Hilton 225 yards and two touchdowns last year and then they brought in a transfer from Liberty by the name of CJ Daniels just over a th yards and 10 touchdowns last season in Conference USA so if you can contain those guys in the throw game from being game Breakers and hitting big plays down the field or at least too many big plays down the field because I think both defenses are going to allow their chunk plays okay when you're installing two different defenses and they weren't great to begin with and you're bringing a new personel it's going to be who can allow the least amount of big plays now when I look at USC defense I think the strength of the Trojans is in the back end of this defense I think they've really upgraded with the new Personnel that they've brought in at safeties and Corners you look at Kamari Ramsey coming over from UCLA you look at John Humphrey coming over with Danton ly from UCLA very familiar with this scheme as well achil Arnold coming over from Oregon State also at safety so they have upgraded that room to Carlos Nicholson coming over from Mississippi State a long athletic type of body frame um over there that can get in passing lanes and disrupt some passing Lanes uh as well so I've Got Confidence that this USC secondary can cover these LSU receivers so it all depends on this pass rush because if Garrett nesm has all day to sit back there and throw the football these guys are going to get open right when you're facing a team from the SEC right when you're facing a team from a power two conference it's tough to hold your coverage for for 3 seconds for 4 seconds you know for that long so there's got to be some sort of pass rush that's what I saying is Danton Lynn has to scheme it up Personnel wise hat on a hat man on man they certainly do not have the advantage up front so Danton Lynn has to get very creative in what he can scheme up to try to get some pressure on Garrett nus in this throw game because I think it's going to be imperative for the USC tro in this one to create some turnovers with their secondary on the defensive side of the football if they can do that give their offense short Fields back the other way specifically early in this football game to create some momentum going forward that could certainly help USC let's head over to the offensive side of the football you see it on the graphic you have to know where Harold Perkins is at all times LSU's defense overall is going through a lot of changes the new guys that they've brought into this defense was are not overly impressive Harold Perkins is a guy though that that can get it done double digits tackled for loss last season he can get after the quarterback he can wreak havoc in the back field with this offensive line guy shifting places of course you're moving Jonah Manheim to the middle um of that offensive line you have a young player in Elijah paage as well uh a tackle so you got to find a way right away when these guys come out to the line of scrimmage you have to identify where Harold Perkins is right away because if you don't know they're going to find a way for Harold Perkins to wreak some havoc in the backfield so you might have to shade your protection to one side you might have to shift things up front on the offensive line now that could maybe free up some things on the other side for some pass rushers but you got to feel pretty good for USC if you can keep Harold Perkins at Bay I think and if Miller Moss has time to throw the football this is a USC football team that I feel confident if they can contain Harold Perkins this is a USC team that can move up and down and up and down the field although the front seven looks pretty good and I think could be improved for the Tigers this season boy I think the advantage when you're talking about these matchups wide receivers against defensive backs I think Advantage USC I think if Miller Moss has time to throw the football he's got weapons all over the field you got a guy like Zachariah Branch just get him the football in space and he's gonna pop off a big play Makai Lemon jacobe Lane you saw what he was able to do in the bowl game against Louisville a big tall Target like Duce Robinson kyen Hudson a more veteran presence in this room as well Kyle Ford Jay fair like there's so many guys that can get involved in this throw game you line up four of them in the formation and it's pick your poison for LSU I just don't know if LSU can keep up with what USC has on the offensive side of the football that has to be USC's Mo in this football game you need to be able to run the football a little bit so you're not completely one-dimensional so that's going to be a key to kind of offset maybe keep LSU on their heels at some points in time but I have a lot of confidence that USC can move the football through the air Lincoln Riley especially with all of the changes new scheme and all of that that Lincoln Riley is going to be able to put together a game plan that he's been working on throughout this off season he's going to be able to put together a game plan that takes advantage of maybe the weakness of the LSU defense which is on the back end here for the Tigers as well so I think the Trojans can come into this game if they can contain what LSU does in the Run game and I want to go back to defense for just a little bit because this is a point that I want to make sure I get out there this is the point that I want to make sure to make you got to tackle you gotta tackle you gotta wrap up if you get LSU into third Downs I've been making this comparison here for the last week you get them into a third and seven they throw a short passing concept for four yards and you get them in the open field you got to find a way to tackle you got to find a way to wrap up and bring him down you got to find a way to get that LSU punt team on the field because so many times during an Alex GR defense right they were out of position One to begin with and I think dant and Lynn will have these guys lined up correctly I think we saw that with Tony white at Nebraska like the jump you can make when you're just lined up and in the proper spot when the ball is snapped so you combine that with being in position and being better tackling they were even tackling better in that bowl game against Louisville they got better even before Danton Lin got there when Alex Grinch was fired so if they can be in the right spot and if they can tackle get that punt team on the field a b but don't break mindset those could be the little things that the USC Trojans need to be able to do to come out on top in this football game with a victory I cannot wait for this matchup in Las Vegas between the USC Trojans and the LSU Tigers so you've heard my stance on those football game but we're going to go just a little bit deeper into this thing as well which means we welcome in a guest Ryan Abraham from USC foot.com the publisher over there a part of the 247 Sports Network so this is obviously a huge game to kind of kick things off first year in the Big 10 right there's a lot of excitement here Ryan coming into the season uh for the USC Trojans what would a win in game number one over a good top 15 LSU team what would that tell you about where the direction USC football is going here in this season for Lincoln riy you know I think it would be obviously really important you want to get a win in that opener LSU's had some problems playing some tough teams in their openers losing their last four and USC's played more of the Tomato can kind of games and maybe not looked as good last year uh you know struggled a little bit with San Jose State but I think I think it's most important if you're looking for the long-term health of this team you want to see some of the things like the offense not dropping off as much as you might expect from losing Caleb Williams and the defense getting significantly better bringing in a new defensive staff and it's funny LSU is kind of looking at the same thing so I think the results important but in this new era of college football expanded playoffs and all that and USC schedule is really tough you could lose an early game and still really not be out of things certainly in the Big 10 Race because it's not a conference game I think if you if USC loses like a close one but they look good on defense it looks like the offense is going to be pretty good and you know maybe some bad special teams players something cost him the game I wouldn't be too you know too cry crying over spiber whatever with that one I think it's really seeing all that work that they did in the off season with the bigger bodies and the better defensive staff and scheme and all that pay off and if that's the case I think it sets them up pretty well for the rest of the season so it's important but I don't a lot of people aren't expecting USC to get a win here so it would be big but the more important to me is just like having a good showing showing that this team has improved from last year exactly we don't want a repeat of that Alabama game nearly a decade ago even though that USC team did finish pretty strong that year so maybe they'll take the Finish but certainly not the start being competitive might be the key you mentioned defense and I want to talk about the defensive side of the football because we were just talking about what this team they have to look good in this first game to really see those signs of progress what do you need to see from this defense in this particular game and which should be a a pretty good LSU offense what do you need to see from this defense to show that hey they've made progress in D and ly throughout fall Camp I think it starts with the tackling and even before D Lynn took over uh we saw in the Holiday Bowl this team tackle a lot better with a lot of the same guys and I think some of it had to do with Alex Grinch's scheme they're just it was one of those things where guys weren't just in the wrong position but they didn't know what they were supposed to be doing you would see them looking at a wristband as the ball's being snapped trying to figure it out and for whatever reason that was happening early in the season and it kept happening the entire way until Al Alex Grinch got fired so some changes needed to be made so even in the blll game without a new scheme you saw better tackling I think it starts with that but if you listen to some of LSU's players this week I mean they've made no uh secret about their uh desire to run the football on USC and I think it's going to start up front but just you know it's not just the defensive linemen comeing in playing well but the linebackers who haven't been productive over the last couple years filling the right gaps and uh you know getting their fits right and being able to stop LSU from getting a lot of success on first down and making their offense and Garett n niser work easier because it's second and two instead of second and eight and I think that's going to be really the key you got to tackle well but I think stopping the run which is an you know age-old football thing that you don't talk about as much now but for USC I don't you can't get pushed around like that they got I mean if you the Washington game last year Michael penx throws the ball over the field right Washington ran all over USC and that wasn't their thing they have to stop that especially against an LSU team that's really gonna try to run the ball okay so you I want I want to focus on that for a minute since you brought it up you mentioned that this LSU team they've been talking about how physical that they want to be in their media availabilities uh this week and you know outside of bar Alexander this is a defensive line that uh they've got a lot of proven to do let's just put it that way what can Danton Lynn what can this defensive line do to at least try to contain what LSC wants to do in the Run game and trying to be physical up front yeah and they got lsdu you know if there's a lot of similarities with these teams but LSU's got experience at both tackle positions and both are probably going to be high NFL draft picks so that's going to put a lot of pressure on USC's defensive line they needed to add some beef in the portal and they just weren't able to you know they bring in Gavin Meyer they were hearing a lot of good things out of Wyoming but he was a rotational player there um Nate Clifton comes in from Vanderbilt and added like 25 pounds of muscle on there and he's gonna probably play inside too so they've they've moved some guys around trying to get some help around bear Alexander because you're gonna have to go deep and you're gonna have to rotate guys but I think they're going to rely on some of the edge play uh Jamal muhamad uh you know came in last year and I think he was a really good piece for UFC but a young player like uh brillan Shelby that just felt really good things about him coming off the edge and what he's going to be able to do so I think pieces wise there there's there's some unproven talent and it's not going to be as deep as you would like it's schematically I think what Danon ly brings now he had some great defensive linemen last year at UCLA but they were pretty bad with those same players the year prior to him getting there and they were number two in the country at at stopping the run so I think some of his schemes seem to fit well in the college football world and it's amazing because he comes in from the NFL and sometimes there's a a transition when you go from trying to coach grown men that are getting paid lots of money I guess you're you're you're coaching younger grown men that are now getting paid lots of money but I I he did a really good job of stopping the run and I think USC's hoping that he can kind of repeat those results uh at the other part the other city in the other Co College in Los Angeles so you've got two quarterbacks that have waited their turn Miller moss and Garrett nus Meer these two programs have had the last two Heisman Trophy winners right there when when you look at LSU you look at USC I think in the past couple of years people knew what they were going to get now there's a lot of newness let's of course we're talking about USC here and the Trojans what's one guy in this team that maybe people don't know as much about people have heard of Miller moss in that bowl game Zachariah branch is certainly a high-profile recruit uh as well but what's maybe one name that people don't know as much about that could be an X Factor that could really break out here in game one yeah I think if you look at that bowl game um they they didn't play well on the offensive line all last year and it just didn't seem to gel they bring in the true freshman Elijah page and he comes and plays left tackle and did really well enough that so that they moved Jonah Manheim who could have went to the NFL to the center spot and he's gonna be USC's left out he's a red shirt freshman he's a monster of a man my colleague Chris trino tweeted out a picture of him and it kind of went viral just guy walking out of the tunnel I mean he didn't look any bigger than we've normally seen him but for whatever reason he maybe there perspective he looked great I think he's the he's going to be one of the most important players for USC protecting Miller Moss's Blind Side and just being young and um you know an important part they're not very deep on that offensive line they got some young players guys that came in in his class and the class before that they're G to they you know might rely on but they would really like guys like him to kind of Step Up and and be a rock solid part of that offensive line so I think he's one of them there's a lot of guys on defense but there's I think there's depth all over the place and if one guy doesn't perform another guy can come in so I think for but I don't know if there's any replacing Elijah page he's gonna be really important for USC holding down that left side of the offensive line boy I am very intrigued to see what this pass protection to Soul line can do with a guy like Harold Perkins right on one side that could certainly bring pressure um on the passer here in this football game okay so we talked about it's important to look good yeah can they take a loss come back in the Big 10 yeah absolutely right that can happen but we're focusing on a victory right we want to see a big 10 we want to see an USC victory right out of the gate um of course if USC has to do one thing what's that one thing that they have to do against LSU to get out of a w in Las Vegas yeah I mean we talked about stopping the run but I think it's about what you do well and what you're going to excel at I think if LSU does well it's probably going to be them being able to run the football on USC where USC can sort of uh take advantage of a mismatch I think it's with USC's receiving core against LSU's secondary uh you know their LSU's defense was bad last year just like USC's and but I think the front Seven's actually going to be pretty good for for the Tigers I think the secondary is where there's a little bit more of a question mark and USC's got four really talented sophomore wide receivers You' mentioned Zachariah branch and he's the guy ranked highly in the uh the new uh college football game but if you you look at you know his his classmates coming in there jacobe Lane wasn't uh you know wasn't really well thought of as a you know he was a four-star recruit but just not you know someone that was like oh man this guy's going to be crazy I think Lane kein Ian oh my God Lane kein Lincoln Riley this I've been covering this team for a while Lincoln Riley sort of wants to keep him under wraps he's just this big body and loves to he's a really fun personality and just can snag the ball out of the air and contested catches and all that I think he's gonna have a huge uh year for the the Trojans and Duce Robinson is a little bit taller than him he's like six foot six um really big body wide receiver and then mikai lemon uh he came in as well and didn't have the fan for either but man he could be I think he's going to be one of the starters for USC but they have some some veteran guys uh at receiver but I think that the core of those four sophomores they all bring a little something different to the table if if USC goes out and wins I think those guys are going to have a big game there's gonna be some big plays uh you know big explosive plays good catches contested catches things like that where Miller Moss is deal in you saw them throw six touchdowns in the Holiday Bowl it'll be something like that that those guys have a big game for USC to win boy when Lincoln Riley was hired as a head coach he went out and he said I got to get some pass catchers and it was that class A couple of years ago that is expected to really step up into the Forefront man this should be a great game I'm so excited this is my big 10 game of the week number 13 LSU number 23 USC Ryan Abraham from USC foot.com at 247 Sports thanks for joining me Ryan thanks for having me the Pack 12 started off with a bang last year winning all 12 non-conference games but what if the big tag goes 18 and0 in week one what would what kind of message would that send and what would be some of the effects we tackle that next after these big B1G Facts [Music] facts if the Pack 12 can do it then why can't the the Big 10 okay let's rewind 18-0 Big Ten Week 1? back to last season 2023 the Pack 12 started off what might have been the very best year in their conferences history also the last season in their conferences history rip uh to the Pack 12 but they went 12 and0 in week number one in non-conference matchups and it really set the tone for that great season that was paxwell football in 2023 so can the Big 10 do it can the Big 10 now they've got six more teams right so we've got more chances to maybe take one or two or three or multiple L's in week one of the season but can the Big 10 go 18 and0 for the sheer amount of teams and of course when you have more teams you have more opportunities and more variables and when you have more variables different things can happen but what would an 18 and0 week one mean for the Big 10 conference well first things that I want to really zero in on are maybe the big games the games that we have covered this week on big nation of course the biggest win and I think the biggest domino effect of going 18 and0 would be how people nationally would react to a USC victory over LSU LSU is a really good football team right I I think when all is said and done and we have the twists and we the turns through the season this is a this is a top 20 top 15 type of college football team LSU could be a top 10 type of football team so if USC can win that game in week number one against a really good by you Bengals Squad I think that says a lot about what Lincoln Riley has done to prepare USC for this season and I think if he's able to get that done this USC team is a top 15 to 17 team maybe at minimum in the country at that point in time depending on what happens in the rest of week number one and all of a sudden I think now USC is on a lot of people's radar all of a sudden because if they can follow that up with a win against Utah State all of a sudden and they got to buy after that all of a sudden they go into that Michigan game and all of a sudden I think that game's got a little bit more cheese on it than it did before I think as we sit right here right now just hours before we kick things off here tonight I think we and I feel this way too and I predicted it in my predictions that Michigan is a bad matchup for USC but what if USC is just another ho hum Lincoln Riley football team and he's very explosive on offense and they show it against the LSU Tigers now that's a very interesting contrast of styles between the explosive offense that is USC and that Dynamite defense that is Michigan all of a sudden that game in the mid afternoon on CBS that becomes a giant college football game that becomes a giant college football game for the Big 10 Race that becomes a giant football game for the college football playoff race because I think that's where a lot of people thoughts are going to go if USC is able to get it done against LSU college football playoff because you look at the rest of the schedule there are games on this schedule even if they lose two more games maybe maybe even three more games a win over LSU is that notching their belt that game into their back pocket that when it comes resume time at the end of the season they can reach into that and say hey we beat a really good football team Minnesota Golden Gophers all right this is a team that a lot of people have on the brink of Bowl eligibility personally I have them sitting at 6 and six some folks have them at 5- seven some folks have them at 7even and five if they're able to establish their will at the line of scrimmage and if Darius Taylor has a 150 yard Ting 160 yards got a couple of touchdowns he does Darius Taylor things like we saw during the season if Max brosmer I think this is maybe even more key if Max brosmer comes out and he shows that he is the Improvement at the quarterback position for Minnesota and he is able to out duel Max Johnson or who whoever is on the other side for the North Carolina Tar Heels I think we need to maybe start putting a little bit more respect unto Minnesota's name as we continue on throughout the season because North Carolina has some weapons North Carolina is a decent ACC football team North Carolina currently the favorite as we go into that matchup tonight in Minneapolis if Minnesota is able to get this win right off the gate first of all I think at that point you got to feel good about Bowl eligibility right winning five of your next 11 games and I think number two I think this is going to carry a lot of momentum early into the season because they've got favorable matchups this could be an undefeated Minnesota team they get Iowa at home early in the season as well I think this is a game where if Minnesota is able to show their Improvement and they're able to get a victory against ma Brown's Tar Heels I think the momentum is going to build for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as we get into the meet of this big 10 schedule as well and for the most part an 18- 0 week one for the Big 10 conference will mean that the Big 10 just took care of business okay and I think a lot of it determines of how each team looks right that's going to determine right if Wisconsin plays a onep possession game but they win against Western Michigan well all of a sudden now there's some concern but if Wisconsin wins 4 2-3 over the Broncos now all now that's that's a little bit of a different story and that offense looks huming you know so I think of it a lot of it depends on how teams look in week number one but when you have this many teams and you avoid even one loss I think that shows the depth of your conference that they can avoid a week one upset like you look at Northwestern against defending ma Champion Miami of Ohio that's one of those avoid avoiding upsets in week number one that an 18-0 record that story would really tell that's a tricky game I think for the wild cats uh to start things off as well so if you can get those kinds of wins and then everybody else takes care of business in the Big 10 it is that stepping stone it is that Marquee week one confidence boost conference wide like the Pack 12 had last season where you tell the rest of the conference hey we're ready to play now you got some week two games okay you got Michigan against Texas you've got Nebraska against Colorado week three you've got Alabama against Wisconsin and now they are ready to go and they are ready to play I think it depends how the teams look a lot of these teams are taking on FCS teams group of five teams I'm not sure if it'll mean maybe as much as as what the Pack 12 put up last year but it will certainly be that first great step to a very deep a very exciting and a very good fun Big 10 college football season in 2024 it's time to play ball folks it's Outro time to play ball it's time to buckle those up those chin straps it's time to tighten those shoulder pads it is time to put boot to ball it is time for college football I got to take this camera this tripod I got to take myself into Huntington Bank Stadium here tonight for coverage of Minnesota and North Carolina going to have reaction from myself going to have reaction from head coach PJ Fleck and Minnesota Golden go for players after this one as well going to have reaction of Penn State and West Virginia on Saturday afternoon so stay tuned to the channel and podcast platforms for that and then USC and LSU going to have a reaction to that on Sunday night as well enjoy your very first college football Saturday we will be back here on Tuesday to recap everything and there's going to be a lot to recap until then I'm big 10 Ted we will see you in the next edition of big nation thank you for watching and listening to big nation make sure to subscribe and follow Big 10 Ted on X YouTube and podcast platforms to stay in the know on all things Big 10 football