Paul Finebaum reacts to LSU benching Garrett Nussmeier in loss to Alabama

On Saturday, LSU benched starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in the third quarter of its 20-9 loss against Alabama. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on the Tigers’ decision to bench Nussmeier.

“I just think back 11 weeks ago, and we were sitting here talking about Nussmeier maybe being the No. 1 draft pick, the Heisman Trophy favorite after LSU beat Clemson, and what a journey he has been on,” Finebaum said. “Of all the years that preseason predictions mattered less, this was the one; the fact that Arch Manning is still starting and Nussmeier is not.

“It was just a weird game. I was in Birmingham all week, Matt. You could walk down the street and talk college football, and nobody brought this up… In terms of LSU, they really don’t have a path forward, their season has crashed and burned. It’s now all about who the governor decides will be the next coach.”

LSU’s showdown against Alabama was the Tigers’ first game since firing head coach Brian Kelly. Interim coach Frank Wilson led the Tigers in the loss.

On paper, Nussmeier’s performance appears solid. Before being subbed out, he completed 18-of-his-21 pass attempts for 121 yards. He threw neither a touchdown, nor an interception.

However, Nussmeier had a lackluster moment when he spun into an Alabama defender in the red zone despite the Crimson Tide only sending three pass rushers. On the broadcast, Frank Wilson could be seen tearing into Nussmeier for the mistake.

It’s been a tumultuous season for Nussmeier, who—as Finebaum mentioned—entered the season as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner. Nussmeier started the season relatively strong, but his play declined once LSU entered conference play.

Nussmeier is only averaging 214.1 passing yards per game, ranking 11th among all starting SEC quarterbacks. Michael Van Buren Jr. replaced Nussmeier on Saturday against Alabama.

He completed 5-of-his-11 pass attempts for 52 yards. After the game, Frank Wilson explained LSU’s decision to bench Garrett Nussmeier in favor of Van Buren.

“We knew there could be opportunities in the quarterback run game and then at the back end, as they tried to bring pressure, they would make it difficult to just sit in the pocket,” Wilson said. “We tried to move him around and he gave us a chance to do some things. We thought [Van Buren] gave us a chance to do those things, so that went into the decision.”