USC beats LSU in a nail-biter in Vegas | Can the Trojans play D now? Where does LSU go from here?

LSU Left Tackle Will Campbell made headlines last week when he declared that the Tigers are “going to run the ball” this season.

“That’s not something we hide,” he said. “I tell everybody now that we’re going to run the ball, so you can do whatever you want with it.”

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Except when No. 13 LSU faced No. 23 USC on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium, the Tigers rushed for just 117 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, in a 27-20 loss to the Trojans. LSU had just four runs of 10-plus yards in Las Vegas. One of those went for 15 or more yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley was asked after the game about LSU’s confidence in the team’s ability to run the ball heading into the season opener, and how his defensive line and linebackers have neutralized the Tigers’ offense.

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“We did a good job,” Riley said. “That’s a really good offensive line. I mean, no doubt about it. There’s a bunch of guys on that O-line that are going to play for a while. And so they had every right to be confident, but so did we. We just chose not to say it in the media. We were confident that we could do it.”

Riley’s defense has been a talking point for years, first at Oklahoma and now at USC. Last year, the Trojans ranked 13th-last in the nation with 34.4 points allowed per game. They also ranked 119th in the FBS with 186.46 rushing yards allowed per game. There was a lot of talk about USC’s transition to the Big Ten — specifically, people wondered if the Trojans could match the conference’s physical strength.

USC issued a statement on Sunday about its position in that area, thanks in part to new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who led a UCLA unit last year that ranked second nationally in run defense.

“It was a physical battle,” Riley said. “There were a lot of big shots on that field from both sides. We did a great job, I thought, of condensing their run game, squeezing them out to where there weren’t just a bunch of big, open holes. They got out a couple times, but we made it tough on them.

“I thought we played physical at the point of attack, guys were pretty gap sound. We were able to steal some of those running lanes and make open-field tackles — against a good running team like that, that’s what it’s all about.”

USC missed just eight tackles, according to PFF. The Trojans mostly kept the plays to themselves. The defensive line was impressive, and so were the Trojans’ linebackers. Eric Gentry, Mason Cobb And Easton Mascarenas-Arnold combined for 20 total tackles. Gentry had two tackles for loss. Cobb had an interception.

Most importantly, USC allowed just 20 points against a top 15 opponent in the SEC and left Vegas with a win under its belt.