Garrett Nussmeier – Syndication Server

Stock Up, Stock Down: Tigers get bitten in the Swamp

LSU’s offensive line struggled and the Tigers fell flat in the fourth quarter as LSU dropped one on the road

Last weekend, the LSU Tigers were embarrassed at home by the Alabama Crimson Tide. I was curious how the Tigers would respond this week as they hit the road to take on the Florida Gators.

The Gators entered the game with a losing record and have been trying to find who their starting quarterback will be. With the questions Florida faced, I thought LSU would come out with a spirited performance and take care of business. I was wrong.

Tonight, we witnessed the LSU offensive line give up seven sacks to the Gators’ defense. [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] never got going and the offense only got into the endzone once as Florida won this one 27-16.

Stock Down: Offensive Line

The vaunted LSU offensive line gave up SEVEN sacks to the Florida Gators in the Swamp. The Tigers offense has been struggling as it is and this only compounded the problem.

Stock Down: Bad rebound after losing to Bama

LSU got embarrassed on their home turf by Alabama last weekend so Tiger fans were looking for a good response from this team and coaching staff. Needless to say, they did not get what they asked for.

Stock Down: Garrett Nussmeier

Nussmeier has not been playing at his highest level for the past three games. He struggled again tonight going 27-for-47 for 260 yards and only one touchdown. He could never get in a rhythm.

Stock Down: No 10-win season

With the Tigers’ loss to Florida, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] will not win 10 games for the eighth season in a row. This loss also killed the hopes of LSU playing for the conference championship.

Stock Down: 4th quarter disaster

Going into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 13. The Gators would go on to outscore LSU 14-3 in the final quarter to pull away with a 27-16 victory.

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Brian Kelly hints at big performance from Garrett Nussmeier vs. Florida

LSU head coach Brian Kelly is expecting a big performance from QB Garrett Nussmeier this week

LSU QB [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] is looking to get back on track after a rough two-game stretch. The LSU starter has thrown five interceptions in his last six quarters of football and only Georgia’s Carson Beck has more picks on the year.

Brian Kelly spoke to the media on Thursday and said Nussmeier was dialed in all week, hinting at a big performance from Nussmeier when LSU travels to face the Florida Gators in week 12.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with (Nussmeier) this week,” Kelly said, “I think he’s been thoughtful, intentional, he’s taken leadership. I just like the way he’s locked in this week.”

Kelly said, in his experience, when a QB is this locked in, you want to tune in.

The LSU head coach remains confident in his QB amid the rough patch. Kelly isn’t one to make grand declarations unless he believes it’ll come to fruition on Saturday.

Florida’s defense provides LSU a chance to get back on track. The Gator’s defense will have the benefit of a home crowd, but the secondary is one of the worst in the country when it comes to allowing explosive plays through the air.

“He’s gonna have a heck of a game,” Kelly said.

Where Garrett Nussmeier ranks among SEC QBs in key stats

Here’s where LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier ranks among SEC QBs in key stats

Nine games into 2024, we’re 75% of the way through with the regular season. That’s a significant sample size and most of the numbers are already in the book.

Today, we’ll take a look at where LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier ranks among fellow SEC QBs in key stats. We’ve done these check-ins every few weeks and it’s about time for another.

It’s been an up-and-down year for Nussmeier. His last six quarters of football have been on the downside of that spectrum. At the same time, he’s had moments of brilliance such as the final quarter and overtime vs. Ole Miss. Put all of it together and most of Nuss’s numbers sit middle of the pack in the SEC.

LSU’s offense is pass-heavy thanks to the struggling ground game. That’s allowed Nussmeier to rack up the volume stats but also put pressure on him to make all the plays.

Let’s jump right in and see where Nussmeier ranks among SEC QBs in key stats.

Note: These ranks are among SEC QBs with 120+ passing attempts. Stats are credited to PFF.

PASSING YARDS: 2,867 – 2nd

Nussmeier ranks second in the conference in passing yards as he nears 3,000 on the year. Not many LSU QBs have crossed that threshold over the years and Nuss could easily do it against Florida this weekend.

COMPLETION: 62.4% – 8th

At 62.4%, Nussmeier’s completion rate is middle of the pack. He’s had two games this year where he’s completed less than half of his passes: Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Nussmeier hasn’t completed over 70% of his passes in a game since September.

TOUCHDOWNS: 21 TDs – 2nd

Nussmeier is effective in finding the endzone, ranking second in the conference in passing TDs. A few of these scores have come in big moments, most notably his final two touchdowns against Ole Miss.

YARDS PER ATTEMPT: 7.6 – 12th

With only 7.6 yards per pass, Nussmeier is near the bottom of the SEC. This has been an area of concern recently with Nussmeier averaging under seven yards per attempt vs Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Alabama.

INTERCEPTIONS: 11 – 16th

Only Georgia’s Carson Beck has thrown more picks than Garrett Nussmeier. This was not a huge area of concern early in the year, but Nussmeier has five interceptions in his last six quarters.

It’s not entirely on him. LSU needs to do more as an offense to take the pressure off its quarterback.

PFF PASSING GRADE: 77.5 – 8th

PFF’s grade is a fair assessment of Nussmeier’s performance. Not among the elite QBs in the SEC, but the grade puts him well above the bottom tier.

PRESSURE TO SACK RATIO: 5.2% – 1st

This continues to be Nussmeier’s biggest strength — avoiding sacks. With an average time to throw of 2.62, Nussmeier gets it out quicker than nearly every QB in the SEC.

QBR: 79.3 – 3rd

ESPN’s QBR tends to be a stable stat, so Nussmeier’s 79.3 QBR here is impressive. Its schedule was adjusted so it speaks to the average strength of defense Nussmeier has faced.

Here’s what Brian Kelly said about fixing LSU’s issues in the red zone

LSU has struggled in the red zone this year. Here’s what Brian Kelly had to say after the loss to Alabama.

LSU’s offense ran into countless problems in the loss to Alabama. Among them: trouble in the red zone. It’s something that’s plagued LSU all season long.

After the game, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was asked about LSU’s struggles to turn red zone chances into points.

“You know, the red zone, is about, at the end of the day, having a great running game,” Kelly said, “Where you just chew people up in the running game or you’ve got a veteran QB that is smart, savvy, experienced, and I’ve had both.”

Kelly said [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] is getting there, but he’s still learning.

With a struggling run game and a first-year starter at QB, LSU ranks 82nd nationally in red zone scoring.

Inability in the red area killed LSU’s momentum early against Alabama. The Tigers were driving with a chance to tie the game after Bama’s opening score, but LSU settled for a field goal after it couldn’t convert on third and goal. After that, Alabama went up 14-3 and LSU couldn’t keep up.

When you’re rebuilding a defense like LSU is, you can’t have an offense that fails to cash in on these chances.

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Breaking down LSU’s clearest path to the SEC title game

Here’s the clearest path for LSU to end up in Atlanta for the SEC title.

LSU’s playoff hopes took a hit with the loss at Texas A&M, but the Tigers are still in the picture. At 6-2 with one conference loss, the SEC title is still in play. If the SEC title is still possible, so is the College Football Playoff.

With divisions gone, conference title races across the country are more muddy. Larger conferences haven’t helped to clear the picture either. Countless scenarios are still possible and at this point, it’s not worth sorting through everyone.

For LSU, the easiest path to Atlanta is simple. For starters, the Tigers need to win out. That means beating Alabama, Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

Then, LSU needs Texas A&M to win out. That means A&M hands Texas its second loss of the year.

This would put LSU and Texas A&M in Atlanta for a rematch.

Even if Georgia wins out, LSU owns the tiebreaker with the Dawgs in this scenario. If there’s no head-to-head tiebreaker, it goes to common opponents. LSU would have a win over Alabama, a team Georgia lost to in September.

It will be an uphill battle to reach Atlanta. Alabama poses its own challenges to LSU and the Aggies will be underdogs vs. Texas.

LSU was in a similar spot in 2022 and 2023 — entering the Bama game at 6-2 with one conference loss. In 2022, LSU beat the Crimson Tide to get to Atlanta. Last year, LSU fell short in Tuscaloosa.

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Where Garrett Nussmeier ranks among SEC QBs in key stats after Week 9

Here’s where Garrett Nussmeier ranks among his SEC QB peers after Week 9.

Week 9 was a rough one for [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] and LSU. After an impressive first half, LSU let the game get away as Nussmeier threw three second-half interceptions.

All three picks came at key moments and set up A&M scores. The Aggies notched 17 points off the turnovers, proving to be the difference in a 15-point game.

Nussmeier’s body of work remains strong, but some things need to be cleaned up. LSU needs more consistency and fewer turnovers from that position.

When Nussmeier is on, he looks like the best QB in the country. If LSU gets that version of No. 13, the Tigers still have a chance to compete for a playoff spot. But if LSU gets more of the Nussmeier we saw in the second half, playoff hopes will vanish vs. Alabama.

We’re eight games into the year, that’s a decent sample size. Let’s see where Nussmeier ranks among SEC QBs in key stats.

2,627 passing yards – 2nd

Even when he’s not at his best, Nussmeier still puts up yards. His 2,627 passing yards rank second in the SEC, only behind Jaxson Dart. That averages out to 328.3 yards per game.

Nussmeier’s crossed the 300-yard mark in six of eight games this year.

20 passing touchdowns – 1st

With 20 touchdowns, Nussmeier sits atop the SEC. He’s thrown for at least two scores in all but one game. His best mark of the year came against Nicholls State, where he threw for six scores.

7.9 yards per attempt – 12th

While Nussmeier racks up the volume stats, he doesn’t rank as high in yards per attempt. His 7.9 yards per attempt place him 12th in the SEC.

82.1 PFF offensive grade – 5th

Jayden Daniels was the nation’s top-graded quarterback last year. Nussmeier isn’t posting the same grades, but his 82.1 offensive grade ranks fifth in the SEC.

Nussmeier’s passing grade of 79.1 sits seventh in the conference.

62.5 completion % – 9th

Nussmeier’s completion percentage ranks ninth among 12 qualified QBs in the SEC. Nussmeier’s play style varies from game to game and that shows here.

He completed just 43.1% of his passes vs. Ole Miss and 50% vs. Texas A&M. Early in the year, his completion rate was often over 70%.

9 interceptions – 1st

Nussmeier has struggled with turnovers in recent games. He played clean football vs. Arkansas but threw a combined five picks against Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

If LSU wants a shot at the playoff, Nussmeier has to protect the ball in big games.

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LSU drops a spot in On3 SEC power rankings after Texas A&M loss

The Tigers unsurprisingly lost some ground in On3’s latest SEC power rankings after Saturday’s frustrating loss.

The Tigers had a chance to make a major statement on the road on Saturday against Texas A&M, and for the first 30 minutes, it looked like they were going to.

LSU dominated the first half against the Aggies, taking a 10-point lead to the locker room. But a quarterback change to Marcel Reed that the Tiger defense had no answer for and defensive adjustments from TAMU that had [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] seeing ghosts flipped the script in the second half as LSU fell 38-23 on the road.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Tigers are dropping in most SEC power rankings as a result, but in On3’s, it was only a one-spot drop to No. 6.

LSU held a 17-7 halftime lead and all of a sudden, it was gone. Like Texas A&M, the Tigers had a six-game winning streak coming in but fell flat in the second half.

Looks like Brian Kelly and crew fell victim to a tough place in the SEC and the 12th man ran rampant in the second half. LSU had no answers for Marcel Reed in the latter stages.

The loss essentially removes any margin for error if the Tigers want to remain in the race for a College Football Playoff spot. That means games against Alabama, Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma are all must-wins, and the Tigers will need to fix the issues that cost it on Saturday before it hosts the Crimson Tide following a bye.

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Is LSU OC Joe Sloan a candidate for the East Carolina job?

A top LSU assistant could be in the mix for a G5 head coaching job.

The 2024 coaching carousel has begun. A few jobs are already open, including East Carolina. The Pirates moved on from head coach Mike Houston after a 3-4 start.

It’s early in the process, but a few names are already being thrown out there, including LSU offensive coordinator [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag].

Sloan played at ECU from 2005-08. He got his coaching start as an assistant at South Florida before a lengthy stint at Louisiana Tech, where he rose to OC.

When [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] arrived at LSU, he tabbed Sloan to coach the quarterbacks. The results were immediate, with Sloan developing [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] into a Heisman winning QB. He’s made progress with [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] this year and is one of the sports’ top recruiters, locking in a commitment from No. 1 overall prospect [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag].

Sloan was promoted to LSU’s OC in December after [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] left for Notre Dame. Sloan is just 37 and his recent work with LSU’s QBs in the building and on the recruiting trail has made him a hot name.

LSU’s offense isn’t the same machine it was last year, but the Tigers are still putting up good numbers.

If Sloan was offered the job, there’s some doubt about whether he’d take it. An SEC coordinating spot isn’t that different than a G5 head coaching salary. And Sloan’s current check comes without the headache of navigating the portal and NIL, something that’s tough to do at a program of ECU’s caliber.

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4 things LSU needs to fix if it wants to be a playoff team

LSU enters the bye week on a sour note, but that gives the Tigers time to fix four key issues.

LSU is headed into the bye week on a sour note. After winning six in a row, the Tigers dropped one by a score of 38-23 at Texas A&M. LSU was in control in the first half, but a failure to put Texas A&M away allowed the Aggies to get back in it.

Once A&M was back in it, it took control. Marcel Reed and the A&M backfield ran all over LSU in the second half and the Aggies finished the game on a 31-6 run.

After the game, linebacker [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag] said LSU wasn’t prepared for Reed entering the game. Texas A&M completed eight passes all night, but it didn’t matter. A&M ran it 46 times for 245 yards and five touchdowns.

On the offensive side of the ball, LSU struggled to get its own run game moving. LSU ran it 22 times for 25 yards — one of the worst rushing performances in program history.

That sits atop the list of needed fixes as LSU enters the bye week. Let’s jump right in and take a look.

LSU needs a run game

We’ve talked about it all year, but LSU needs a run game. It was an issue in the opening loss to USC, outside of a few bursts from [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] More red flags were raised when LSU failed to get a consistent push vs. FCS Nicholls.

Then true freshman [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] began to inject life into LSU’s ground game. Durham ran it 11 times for 98 yards in the win over South Carolina. A few weeks later vs. South Alabama, he toted it seven times for 128 yards. He crossed the 100 mark again at Arkansas.

But on Saturday, Durham was quiet. He caught four passes for 56 yards, but he was a nonfactor on the ground. [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] didn’t add much either, running it seven times for 23 yards.

Both Durham and Williams had a decent run on LSU’s second drive, but apart from that, LSU had nothing.

LSU is a team with two first-round picks at tackle and two veterans at guard. The Tigers have a deep tight end room and a group of talented running backs. With Nussmeier’s arm, defenses can’t load the box either. All of that should lead to LSU being able to run the football, but for whatever reason, LSU can’t find any consistency.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said LSU has spent a lot of time on the run game. Earlier in the year, right tackle [autotag]Emery Jones Jr.[/autotag] joked [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag] wasn’t leaving his office. LSU is aware of the problem and knows it needs to be fixed. We’ll see if the bye week comes with any new ideas before LSU faces a strong Alabama front.

Allow Garrett Nussmeier to settle in

When [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] is on, he’s among the best quarterbacks in the country. But when he’s off, he’s a turnover waiting to happen. In each of LSU’s last two games, we’ve seen two drastic sides of Nussmeier.

Nussmeier struggled to settle in vs. Ole Miss, throwing picks and missing throws deep. He eventually figured it out and led LSU to victory, but it was a rocky road to get there.

On Saturday, we saw the good version of Nussmeier early. He played one of the best halves of his career in the first two quarters, but what came next was a complete unraveling.

LSU OC Joe Sloan has to keep Nussmeier comfortable throughout the game. Part of it could have to do with LSU’s inability to run the ball. Nussmeier feels like he has to do it all himself and puts the ball in dangerous spots.

But LSU needs to get ahead of the problem. When it starts to look shaky, find some quick throws to get the QB in rhythm. Nussmeier now leads the SEC with nine picks on the year — that’s not a sustainable way for this team win football games.

Become more athletic at defensive tackle

It might be unfair to expect LSU to fix this midseason, but the Tigers have some of the necessary tools.

LSU’s defensive tackle group is well coached and overperforming expectations, especially with the loss of Jacobian Guillory. Gio Paez and Paris Shand get the bulk of the work and play sound football, but LSU misses quick twitch athleticism up the middle.

There are guys on the roster that have it, such as Jay’Viar Suggs. We’ve seen Suggs playing time increase in recent weeks. He got 21 snaps in the loss to A&M, totaling three pressures and a sack. Suggs has 10 pressures and seven stops on just 108 snaps this year. That’s the playmaking ability LSU needs at that spot.

There were times when LSU defensive tackles were in the right spot but just didn’t make a play.

Suggs, along with true freshman Dominick McKinley, could help solve that issue.

Be more explosive on offense

LSU’s explosive passing rate is fine. The Tigers rank top 25 nationally in 15-yard passing rate and top 50 in 20-yard passing rate. But if LSU is going to struggle to run the ball, LSU needs to be elite at finding chunk yardage plays.

LSU doesn’t have the ability to march down the field getting five or six yards at a time right now. The only way LSU can score consistently is Nussmeier finding receivers down the field.

When A&M took the explosive passing element away, LSU had nothing.

LSU must figure out how to maintain the big plays throughout the game.

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5 stats that defined LSU’s loss at Texas A&M in Week 9

These five stats defined LSU’s loss at Texas A&M.

LSU’s second half did not go to plan in College Station on Saturday night. Texas A&M turned to dual-threat QB Marcel Reed and the LSU defense had no response.

On the other side of the ball, LSU’s failure to run the ball put too much on the passing game and QB [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] made a series of mistakes that let the game get away from LSU.

LSU was a slight underdog and playing on the road in the SEC is never easy, but A&M flat-out beat LSU in the second half. ESPN play-by-play man Chris Fowler called it a Texas A&M avalanche. It’s hard to find a better way to describe it.

Texas A&M looked like a playoff team over the final two quarters while LSU looked like a team unprepared for the moment. Mistakes in all phases of the game cost LSU on Saturday night. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

Here are five stats that defined LSU’s loss.

LSU’s 1.9 yards per carry

At first, that reads like a typo. LSU averaged 1.9 yards per carry — not what’s expected from an SEC team with future NFL linemen and blue-chip running backs.

[autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] ran it 11 times for 15 yards while Josh Williams got seven carries for 23 yards. Together, they combined for a -8.33 EPA on the ground.

LSU’s offensive line couldn’t get any push or create space. Durham and Williams were constantly met by Texas A&M defenders at the line of scrimmage.

Just 19% of LSU’s runs went for 4+ yards. A&M’s mark was at 60%.

“We spent a lot of time on our run game. We should be better there,” [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said.

Garrett Nussmeier: Three interceptions

After Week 9, [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] leads the SEC with nine picks on the year. We knew Nussmeier was a “gunslinger” who would put the ball in jeopardy at times, but three picks on Saturday allowed the game to unravel for LSU.

Throwing three picks in a half isn’t a recipe for success. The turnovers came on LSU’s end of the field and set A&M up for a touchdown drive of eight yards and 26 yards. The third pick led to a field goal. Combined, A&M scored 17 points off the Nussmeier turnovers.

You could feel the momentum swing after the first interception. That’s where the game was lost for LSU. The Tigers weren’t able to settle down after that and the floodgates opened.

LSU special teams: -5.02 EPA

LSU’s field goal unit struggled on Saturday. A poor hold led to [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] missing a field goal late in the first quarter. In the second, LSU missed another one.

Long snapper [autotag]Slade Roy[/autotag] and holder [autotag]Peyton Todd[/autotag] weren’t on the same page and it led to a bungled snap in the third quarter. That’s nine points left on the board.

With the way A&M controlled the game in the second half, it’s hard to say the nine points were the difference, but the second half looks different if LSU is playing with a bigger lead.

When you send the field goal unit out there three times, you don’t want to come away empty on all three attempts.

LSU’s EPA without explosive plays: -36.29

LSU’s offense had a few explosive plays on Saturday night, including a 76-yard catch and run from [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] and some third-down conversions to [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag].

Outside of that, LSU struggled to get anything going on offense. Without the explosive plays, LSU’s EPA was -36.29. LSU’s worst mark of the year.

With the run game not providing anything, it was hard to establish down-to-down consistency. That allowed A&M to tee up blitzes on Nussmeier and showcase some disguised coverages.

Nussmeier was feeling the pressure and knew the only way LSU could score was a big play through the air. Kelly said LSU is putting too much on its quarterback and that was evident on Saturday.

Mason Taylor and Kyren Lacy: 8 catches on 16 targets

This stat may feel a little nitpicky, but LSU only completed half of its targets to its most reliable receivers.

LSU turns to Taylor and Lacy when it needs a conversion — they’re Nussmeier’s go-to guys.

This is related to LSU’s lack of down-to-down efficiency. Part of LSU becoming a better situational football team means consistently completing passes to the dependable pass catchers.

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