The LSU Tigers and USC Trojans are in eerily similar spots heading into their season opener on Sunday night, and it's part of the reason many are so pumped up for this matchup.

LSU enters their third year under Head Coach Brian Kelly and boast a 20-7 record under his guidance. USC also enters their third season under their Head Coach Lincoln Riley, who has posted a 19-8 record since arriving in Los Angeles.

Neither of these head coaches are on the hot seat, but if they fail to deliver this season, they could start to feel some heat from the fanbase and their higher ups. A 12-team playoff presents a lot of opportunities to get in and potentially host a first-round matchup, and both of these squads are expected to be right in the hunt this season.

Another similarity between LSU and USC is the quarterback situation. LSU just lost a Heisman winning quarterback in Jayden Daniels and hope that their new quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier - who sat for three years behind Daniels - can lead them to the College Football Playoffs. USC also just lost a Heisman winning quarterback in Caleb Williams and hope that their new quarterback, Miller Moss - who also sat for three years behind Williams - can lead them to the CFP. Not to mention, both of these guys were ranked within one spot of each other in the Rivals 2021 QB rankings (7th and 8th).

Garrett Nussmeier and Miller Moss are apart of a rare group of college athletes who have sat for three years and not transferred. 43 of the 68 power schools are expected to start transfer QBs this season, meaning only 37% will start a QB who has been in their system for more than one offseason.

They both have very high expectations this season, even though neither one has made multiple starts in their careers. Maybe it's a bit unfair to expect so much from such inexperienced players, but they're going to have to live up to those expectations or else the season might as well just go out the window.

The third similarity between these two schools is on the defensive side of the ball. LSU fired their entire defensive staff after an abysmal year in 2023 and went out and poached a fellow SEC team's defensive coordinator in Blake Baker to hopefully turn things around. USC also fired their DC after a very poor season and brought in a new DC in D'Anthony Lynn from a fellow Pac-12 (now Big 10) school.

These two defenses will play major roles in determining whether or not their respective school can make the CFP this season. Despite have the 1st and 2nd ranked offenses last year, LSU and USC both lost 3+ games and wouldn't have made the expanded playoffs. With both sides losing a ton of offensive production from last year, they can't expect to finish first and second again, so their defenses must improve to give themselves any shot at the playoffs.

Both of these teams enter this game ranked in the top-25, but neither team can afford a loss early in the season. Both of them have very tough schedules, so a week one loss could be detrimental to their season.

This should be a wildly entertaining and close ball game, and I can't wait to see what happens Sunday night.

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