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Vegas Kickoff Classic between LSU, USC announces sell out

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•08/19/24•

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usc vs lsu kickoff classic
USC and LSU will open their seasons in Las Vegas in the Kickoff Classic on 9/1/24

LSU–USC presents itself as one of the more entertaining matchups early in the college football season. Playing in Las Vegas only adds to the spectacle, being another classic neutral site game we have seen across the years. Fans from Baton Rouge and Las Angeles will travel to the Sin City to watch their beloved teams play.

Just a couple of weeks away from kickoff, the game is officially sold out. They announced as such on Monday evening, with 65,000 people expected to be in attendance. It’s a matchup we are seeing for the first time since 1984 and just the third time ever, with excitement building.

Plenty of storylines will follow the two teams into Sunday night’s matchup. There are some similarities as well, with both wanting to have better defensive outputs during the 2024 season.

LSU turned back to Blake Baker to be the defensive coordinator after previously being the program’s linebackers coach but spending the last two seasons at the Missouri DC.

Baker is hoping for a quick turnaround as there is plenty of confidence in what the Tiger offense can produce once again. Just slight improvements on defense would make LSU a scary team in the SEC.

On the other sideline, head coach Lincoln Riley finally ripped off the Alex Grinch band-aid, one he held onto dating back to his days at Oklahoma. USC’s defense was among some of the worst in power conference football, canceling out magic created by Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

Crosstown rival UCLA saw D’Anton Lynn get poached from them as he now wears cardinal and gold.

Offensively, Garrett Nusmmier will lead LSU onto the field as the team’s starting quarterback. We are still waiting to see who USC will roll with, with the decision coming down to Miller Moss and Jayden Maivia. At least from the outside, the former is expected to win the job for the Trojans.

Being a standalone, primetime game means the entire college football world will be watching. Plenty of eyeballs will be in the stadium as well, enjoying the game in person. An incredible atmosphere should unfold at Allegiant Stadium, especially with how well the two fan bases travel.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. PT, the local time in Las Vegas. ABC will have the broadcast for what could wind up being the opening weekend of college football’s best game.