Report: USC Tried For Nearly Two Years To Get Out Of The 2024 Season Opener vs. LSU

Saturday Down South reported this week that Southern Cal "tried for nearly two years" to get out of the 2024 season opener vs. LSU in Las Vegas scheduled for this September.

The matchup was first announced by both schools in 2021.

According to the report, the Trojans offered other opponents to LSU, and Fox Sports also intervened to help them bail out.

quote:

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USC tried for nearly 2 years to find a way out of a contract to play LSU in Las Vegas because Trojans coach Lincoln Riley didn’t want the game, multiple sources told Saturday Down South.

As late as last fall, after Jen Cohen was hired away from Washington to be the new USC athletic director, the USC administration was still trying to get out of the game, including offering other opponents to LSU, sources said.

At one point, Fox Sports got involved and tried to further the process. The network wasn’t enamored with the idea of USC’s first game as a Big Ten member broadcast by rival ABC/ESPN.

“They weren’t getting out of the game,” a source told SDS.

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According to the report, sports agent Trace Armstrong, who represents Lincoln Riley and Brian Kelly, also got involved, but Kelly and LSU weren't having it.