Garrett Nussmeier injury update: LSU QB dealing with 'torso' issue

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been dealing with a “torso injury,” according to head coach Brian Kelly. However, he won’t be resting until the bye week.

While not confirmed, it could be an explanation for lack of explosive plays and passing offense consistently through three games. Nussmeier was pegged as a Heisman favorite in the the preseason and has guided the No. 3 Tigers to a 3-0 start.

In the 20-10 win over Florida, Nussmeier had his moments but didn’t light the world on fire. He was 15-of-27 passing for 220 yards, one touchdown and one interception. This season, Nussmeier has 689 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a 65.1% completion percentage.

LSU has to play SE Louisiana this weekend before traveling to play Ole Miss on September 27th. Following that game, the Tigers will have a bye week where Nussmeier could potentially rest if need be.

Nussmeier, injury or not, hasn’t looked in peak condition. Neither has the offense for LSU in totality, which drew quite the postgame rant from Kelly Saturday night.

“Stop, really? Is that the first question?” Kelly asked. “We won the game 20-10. Try another question. What do you want me to tell you? I just laid it out for you. We played the game to win the game. We played the game to win the game.”

LSU ranks just 109th in the country with 20.0 points per game. Additionally, the Tigers were outgained 362-322 in Saturday’s win.

“Clearly LSU’s offense is a shell in terms of what people thought it would be capable of so far,” college football analyst Josh Pate said following the game. “Now, that’s through three games and they played two really tough defensive opponents. Last week kind of was what it was against Louisiana Tech. I will even give you benefit of the doubt that was a let-down spot, lookahead spot. So maybe you’ve just been in a letdown spot for your inferior opponent and you’ve played two really good defenses.

“Brian Kelly’s right. Maybe Brian Kelly is telling the God’s honest truth that they called that game last night in the best manner to win that game. …Let’s just pack it in here. We got the win. Move on down the road. When we need to open the offensive briefcase, it’ll be there.”