For the first time as LSU’s starting quarterback, junior Garrett Nussmeier may think twice or have pause before slinging it Saturday night against Alabama at Tiger Stadium.
Or will he?
The No. 15 Tigers (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) host No. 11 Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. on ABC. LSU could well be undefeated without one or two of the three interceptions Nussmeier threw in the second half of the Tigers’ 38-23 loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 26 after leading 17-7 at the half.
“Obviously, we weren’t the same team, and that breaks down to execution,” Nussmeier, a first-year starting junior for the Tigers, said. “I made some mistakes and gave them a chance to catch momentum by turning the ball over and gave them a short field.”
Nussmeier’s completion percentage was also down as he completed only 25 of 50 passes for 405 yards and two touchdowns. Texas A&M’s defense switched coverages and looks in the secondary and adjusted its pass rush in the second half, which at times confused Nussmeier in his first season as the Tigers’ starter.
“I beat myself up for it for about a week, and then I had to flush it. Now, we’re focused on Alabama,” he said.
“That’s the process of a first-time starter at quarterback,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “It’s the life of the quarterback at any level, and Garrett knows that. His dad’s a quarterback coach (Doug Nussmeier, the Philadelphia Eagles QB coach). He’s built for this, and he’s not a guy that is going to shy away from it.”
BRIAN KELLY DOESN’T WANT TO HEAR IT FROM GARRETT NUSSMEIER
Nussmeier has been feast and famine this season. He won the Ole Miss game back on Oct. 12 and drew much national attention with amazingly accurate touchdown passes to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime, 29-26. But he completed only 43 percent of his passes in that game – 22 of 51 – for 337 yards and another two interceptions with three TDs.
And thus, Nussmeier has a strange statistical flow. While he is No. 7 in the nation in passing yards with 2,627 and is tied for eighth in touchdown passes with 20, he is a pedestrian No. 45 in passing efficiency – a more encompassing statistic that takes into account several variables. Nussmeier has a 143.1 efficiency rating on 208-of-333 passing with nine interceptions.
“He is up for the challenge of getting better,” Kelly said. “He’s out there and we’re working with him to get him to the level that he needs to be and he’s excited about doing it.”
Kelly does not feel he has to work on Nussmeier’s confidence quotient.
“I have no fear. I have no doubts, no worries,” Nussmeier said.
“So, I’m not really worried about a loss of confidence with him, because he knows this,” Kelly said. “He knows what this looks like, and he knows others that have been here that are having incredible success in the NFL right now who have gone through a similar path of development.”
Kelly was talking about Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy at LSU last season after struggling at times in the 2022 season.
“Garrett’s going through that, too,” Kelly said.
“I don’t like to share things like that,” Nussmeier said when asked what lessons he has learned from the A&M game. “But there definitely were some lessons learned. Definitely, some big ones.”
Maybe patience and and making the effort to give up on a play at times, and live for a better chance on the next play.
“Some things I’ll carry on with me for the rest of my career,” he said. “It sucks that it happened, but it’s part of playing football. Now, I’ve just got to be better from it.”
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