USC to play LSU in 2024 Vegas Kickoff Classic
The USC Trojans and LSU Tigers will meet in the 2024 Vegas Kickoff Classic in a game that has been anticipated for nearly two decades.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be home to the first Kickoff Classic this fall, with a matchup between Arizona and BYU. The matchup between the Trojans and Tigers will be the second Kickoff Classic and one of the marquee college football events of the 2024 season. The game will air on ABC or ESPN with a date and time to be determined.
The two teams have a number of connections, starting with the 2003 season where the two teams were co-national championship. LSU won the BCS championship while USC was voted No. 1 in the AP Poll. A BCS Championship Game matchup between the two looked possible when Oklahoma lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35-7, but the computer maintained Oklahoma at No. 1 and relegated USC to the Rose Bowl. Since then, one-time USC interim coach and longtime position coach Ed Orgeron became head coach of the Tigers and guided them to a national championship in the 2019 season.
USC has been looking to bolster its future football schedules since Mike Bohn arrived as athletic director. The 2021 season opener was scheduled to be against UC Davis, making it the first time the Trojans would face an FCS opponent. But it was swapped for a game against San Jose State. USC also added a home-and-home series with Ole Miss, scheduled for 2025 and 2026.
“We are excited to participate in a matchup that will certainly be the marquee season opening game of the 2024 season,” said USC athletic director Mike Bohn in a statement. “It is a priority for us to deliver games that will energize our fans, and we are thrilled to bring this event and opponent to the west coast in a world-class facility and attractive location for our supporters. When our players choose to be Trojans, they know they will get to experience competition on the nation’s grandest stages, and this historic Vegas Kickoff Classic will be yet another such opportunity.”
The Trojans and Tigers have met twice previously. USC won at LSU 17-12 in 1979, while LSU beat USC 23-3 in Los Angeles in 1984.
