Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers lost their Week 1 showdown against No. 23 USC 27-20 in what was another close game for the program.

It’s the fifth straight season-opening loss for the Bayou Bengals, as Kelly’s group has yet to win in Week 1 since arriving in Baton Rouge.

What did you learn from Sunday?

No. 1: Garrett Nussmeier lives up to expectations, but breaks down defenses

LSU redshirt-junior signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier was handed the torch this offseason after Heisman winner Jayden Daniels handed him the keys to the offense. On Sunday, he looked like the next big thing to come out of Baton Rouge.

Nussmeier finished the day completing 29 of 38 attempts through the air for 304 yards and two touchdowns in just his second career start.

It was simply a surgical feat by the veteran quarterback. He has been patiently waiting for his turn to showcase his talents, with Week 1 against USC as his chance. Nussmeier took the team by storm on Sunday after showing off his growing decision-making skills.

“He did some really good things. He did enough to help us win the football game, but when we needed a couple plays, I think he would have liked to have gotten a couple back. He’s going to be really good for us, and he’s going to get better from today,” Kelly said after Sunday’s loss.

He was sometimes called a “gun hero,” but the story quickly changed as he became more consistent.

There was a good connection between Nussmeier and Kyren Lacy from start to finish.

For Lacy, he broke his career-high of seven receptions in the first half alone with Nussmeier going to his WR1 from the jump. He finished the day with seven catches for 94 yards and 1 touchdown.

Taylor proved he had become a reliable weapon for Nussmeier during Fall Camp. The connection grew last month and continued in Week 1 against USC after Taylor finished the day with seven receptions for 62 yards on Sunday.

All in all, it was a great day for Nussmeier. He took control of the USC defense from start to finish and showed why many believe he is the next big thing for the Bayou Bengals.

No. 2: Attack disappears, rushing attack is non-existent

There was a lot of hype heading into Week 1, with the Tigers looking to deploy their rushing attack early, and when we got to Sunday, it just wasn’t there at times.

Yes, the Tigers finished with 117 yards on the ground, but that came in spurts, with John Emery making a run of over 30 yards in the third quarter.

All in all, it was a disaster for LSU on the ground, as the program lost its battle in the trenches on Sunday.

“Look, we can sit here and look at a million different things, but we had over 400 yards of total offense. We couldn’t get the ball in the end zone when we really needed to,” Kelly said. “This is a lot more about a much better, more efficient offense in the red zone than it is about the failure of not being able to run. We ran the ball well enough to set up the things we wanted to do. We ran the ball well enough to win this game, but you can’t win games if you can’t come away with anything from the 3-yard line.”

In the first half, it was the passing attack that led the Bayou Bengals down the field on their first few possessions. In the second half, the play calling was everywhere.

The Tigers abandoned the passing game and switched to a rushing attack, failing to gain any yards on the ground despite Emery’s 61 yards on 10 carries.

It was Kyren Lacy who hauled in seven receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown in the first half, but the second half was a different story. LSU went to its WR1 just twice with 0 catches.

No. 3: Defense makes progress, shows improvement in Week 1

It was a new defense the Tigers were hoping to see in 2024. There were certainly some hiccups in the secondary, but Blake Baker’s unit did show improvement.

The blitz packages were on full display, but ultimately it was USC signal-caller Miller Moss who made the most of his opportunities and hacked the defense to pieces, surgically completing 381 yards through the air on 27 of 36 passing.

“I thought our defensive tackle play was a lot better. I thought our edge play was better. We tackled pretty well. We were competitive. Overall, it’s more connected. It’s a cohesive, connected group that plays hard. They really played hard. They didn’t execute as well as we would have liked, but that’s probably all.”

There were hiccups from the defensive backs in Jardin Gilbert, P.J. Woodland and Sage Ryan with the secondary inconsistent through four quarters. The Trojans averaged 7.6 yards per play with the Tigers defense unable to get comfortable enough to slow Moss and Co.

No. 13 LSU hosts Nicholls State in its home opener next Saturday as the program hopes to bounce back against a lesser in-state opponent.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers on SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage of the LSU program.