USC mascot hilariously damages field during traditional sword plant ahead of LSU matchup

The USC mascot had some trouble Sunday as he tried to plant his sword into the field prior to a matchup against LSU at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It’s a tradition that occurs before every game, but this time did not go according to plan.

Perhaps it had something to do with him being on a different field than usual, but the mascot struggled to remove the sword from the turf. As he tried to get it out, some of the field came with it and left the turf damaged. You can field the moment below.

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Trojan off to a great start… pic.twitter.com/Z16e7SJDvD

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) September 1, 2024

It was certainly an embarrassing moment for USC before the game that received a few reactions from fans on social media. Hopefully the next time the mascot attempt to plant the sword this season it goes a little bit more smoothly.

As for the game, it got off to a slow start with both teams scoreless at the end of the first quarter. USC eventually got on the board first when Woody Marks ran in a two-yard touchdown. However, the Tigers answered on the next drive to tie things up with a touchdown of their own.

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The score is now tied at 10 heading into halftime after the teams traded field goals to close out the first half.

Geoff Schwartz criticizes Lincoln Riley for ‘awful’ end of first half

Lincoln Riley made an interesting decision late in the first half after USC came up with a defensive stop against LSU. The Trojans forced a fourth down and the Tigers lined up to kick a field goal that would tie the game.

However, despite the fact that there was still more than a minute left in the half, Riley did not use a timeout to stop the clock even though he had all three remaining. USC still managed to drive down and get in field goal range before missing, but it was still a puzzling decision nonetheless.

Former Oregon and NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz took to social media to criticize Riley for his game management.

“So USC wasted nearly a minute by not calling a timeout before LSU’s FG attempt and the 2nd down run,” he wrote on X. “Then he played for a FG because he ran out of time. And they missed the FG. Just awful game management.”