A man stands at a roulette table, heart pounding as he pushes a stack of chips onto his chosen number. 
The Vegas casino is bustling and loud, but he’s only focused on the click of the ball against the spinning wheel. 

At Allegiant Stadium, LSU fans’ hearts race similarly as USC snaps the ball from the 13-yard line, the game tied at 20 with 13 seconds remaining.

The roulette ball spins and spins, and the gambler’s anxiety heightens with each passing second. Could this be his moment?
With the same intensity, USC quarterback Miller Moss hands off the ball to running back Woody Marks. The rusher powers through the middle. 

The gambler’s face drops when the ball settles, and it’s not on what he bet. All his hope and excitement are gone. 

LSU fans, who traveled miles to finally see their team win a season opener, are left devastated when Marks enters the end zone, securing the Trojans 27-20 win. 

For the fifth season in a row, the Tigers start the year at 0-1. But what makes this time feel so different? 

Hope. 

There was hope LSU would win this nail-biting, back-and-forth game. There was hope quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who racked up 304 passing yards, would get the Tigers the victory. 

But, like many who come to Vegas, LSU left unlucky. Here are three takeaways from the Week 1 loss. 

Secondary slump

After LSU kicker Damian Ramos’ field goal tied the game at 20-20, only a minute and 47 seconds remained. All LSU’s defense had to do was hold off the Trojans. Then, the Tigers’ offense could have a chance to come out and win in overtime. 

However, the secondary allowed USC to drive down the field, giving up five, 10 and 20-yard passes along the way. 
Moss averaged 14 yards per pass, and LSU’s defensive backs gave up 378 passing yards. 

Tiger fans know this tale all too well. 

The offense kept the game competitive, but the pass coverage faltered, leading to easy plays and touchdowns for opponents. 

LSU was up 17-13 with five minutes left in the game, but Moss threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane. Cornerback Ashton Stamps left room for Lane to make the catch. 

With the spotlight on the secondary this season, LSU must adjust its coverage to prevent receivers from beating defensive backs.

Red-zone inefficiency 

Multiple times LSU was in the red zone. Multiple times it settled for field goals or turned over the ball on downs. 

Of LSU’s five trips to the red zone, only two were touchdowns. The Tigers settled for field goals twice, which ultimately left them behind when USC scored a touchdown on its final drive.

In only his second start, Nussmeier had a tremendous game with 29 of 38 passes completed. However, the two touchdown passes were not enough. The Tigers needed to follow through after strong drives, which was tough against USC’s red-zone defense. 

The Tigers left a potential 11 points on the field, which means everything in a close battle. 

On the other side, LSU’s red-zone defense gave up short runs, which allowed USC to strike first in the second quarter. But the goal-line defense also forced USC to field goals twice in this game. 

Lack of big plays

The Nussmeier to wide receiver Kyren Lacy connection was solid from the start of the game. They created two 15-yard passes in the first two plays of the game. 

But Nussmeier stayed away from the long ball most of this game. He only completed two deep passes, one for 26 yards and his longest of the night for 41 yards. 

USC’s defense capitalized, keeping seven players near the line at all times since Nussmeier was sticking to short passes. 

Because the Trojan defense was strong in the trenches, LSU wasn’t able to create many explosive runs. 

John Emery Jr. had a 39-yard run, which was the Tigers only big rushing play of the night.  Other than that run, LSU’s running backs averaged 3.04 yards per rush. 

The Trojans snatched big plays from LSU by putting pressure on pass attempts and stuffing most running plays. 

With areas to refine and penalties to reduce, the Tigers still have a solid foundation to build on from these lessons and hopefully can come back stronger for their home opener against Nicholls on Sept. 7.