Brian Kelly defends Garrett Nussmeier struggles, calls for team-wide improvement for LSU

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier still hasn’t played to the level at which many expect from him through five games this season going into the bye week. However, with the Tigers taking the first loss of their season this weekend in Oxford, Brian Kelly knows this is a team problem more than any quarterback one.

Kelly discussed Nussmeier’s play again following the 24-19 loss they took to Ole Miss on Saturday. He says that his quarterback does have to be better than what he has been, but so does the rest of their offense and the rest of their team considering they just lost their first of the year.

“I mean, look. Garrett Nussmeier has got to play better. Every player on offense has got to play better. And then we have to be more consistent on defense. I mean, there’s not one guy that you will point out and go, ‘Well, that was the reason why we lost’. There’s many, many players that have to play their best when their best is needed,” Kelly said. “We weren’t very good on third down, right. We’ve been a really good third down team. We have to be better on third down, and that’s not just Garrett, you know. We’ve got to get open. Our coaches got to get our guys in a position where they can make some plays. And, look, you saw it. We struggled with completing the deep ball, where they did very very well completing the deep ball.”

“I mean, the quarterback is going to get micro-managed when you lose games. I get that,” said Kelly later. “Look, all I can tell you is, you know, he’s healthy. And, you know, again, I think he would tell you, just like Tyree Adams would tell you, just like Chris Hilton would tell you, Bauer Sharp would tell you. We need to play better and more consistent on the offensive side of the ball.

Nussmeier finished the loss being 21-34 (61.8%) for a season-low of 197 yards along with a touchdown and an interception. That’s coming off the best game of his season a week prior against SE Louisiana as, in the other four games, Nussmeier is posting just 64.3% completion for 221.5 yards per outing with four passing scores and three picks.

As was revealed two weeks ago, Nussmeier has begun this season with a torso injury that may be having some effect on his play. Still, even so, LSU has not played well as a whole offensively either, with the Tigers averaging, in those same four games, only 19.8 points and 323.3 yards of offense. The loss to the Rebels was one of their worst efforts yet as they scored just 19 points and had 256 yards of offense, going 2-11 on third down as well, yesterday afternoon in Oxford.

Like Kelly said, quarterback is always the position we will often assess first. It’s just, while Nussmeier does need to be better, and hopefully will be once he’s likely healthier coming out of their bye, LSU needs to be better altogether, specifically offensively, despite their start at 4-1 now.

“I don’t want to go too long on the answer, but this is not a Garrett Nussmeier problem. This is an entire football team of guys doing their job at a higher level,” said Kelly.