Real Culprit Behind Garrett Nussmeier Hitting Rock Bottom Revealed & It’s not Brian Kelly

When Alabama faced LSU in Tiger Stadium, it was a win-out or go-home game. Even bringing ‘Mike’ the Tiger on the sidelines didn’t save Brian Kelly from an embarrassing 13-42 loss to the Tide. Though there are a bunch of reasons why LSU fell short against Bama, offensive mistakes were quite evident throughout the game. Naturally, the buck stops with the head coach, but in this case, analysts are picking on another name to explain why QB Garrett Nussmeier is not performing per expectations.

Who is the person in the line of fire? College football analyst Adam Breneman puts it all on offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Breneman listed a few moments from the LSU vs. Alabama game where Joe Sloan was clueless, guiding Garrett Nussmeier. “You should never be unorganized at the goal line,” says Breneman.

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On the November 13th episode of the show College Football Power Hour, Breneman listed out his reasons. “It was a fall game, and it comes down to what I thought was bad play calling on the goal line multiple times. They look disorganized. Nussmeier, looking at the sidelines, not knowing what’s going on. Man, that starts in the game unorganized in the red zone on the goal line, where you can’t be unorganized. You should never be unorganized on the six-yard line.” 

Breneman explained one such crucial moment when it was 3rd and 11 LSU down 15, and they were at the Bama’s 49, around 12 seconds remaining in the first half. Garrett Nussmeier dumped it to Canden Durham, who slipped on the wet grass for a six-yard loss right before halftime. This kind of situation pointed out Joe Sloan’s off-the-mark game plan. The offensive coordinator suc-ed with situational calls deep on short-yardage plays and also on conservative runs behind the sticks.

Compare this with Alabama’s playcalling. Looking at the scorecard, what is the stark difference between Jalen Milroe’s numbers against LSU and his stats in other games? The over-representation of rushing yards. Why did Bama run it so much? Because the weather was bad, it was not ideal for the passing game. The Crimson Tide understood the context and planned accordingly. Sloan, on the other hand? Less said, the better.

At last, Breneman highlighted that with three games left in the season, Sloan needs to find an identity by letting Nussmeier air it out to save their season. With that, let’s find out whether Garrett Nusmeier is draft-eligible.

Highlights of Garrett Nussmeier’s performance so far this season

After Jayden Daniels left to join the NFL, Garrett Nussmeier took the driving seat of the LSU Tigers as the starting quarterback. Although it’s not a cakewalk to fill a Heisman winner’s shoes, Nussmeier tried by leading the Tigers to a 6-3 record after facing defeats from USC, Texas A&M, and Alabama.

So far this season, Nussmeier has thrown for 21 TDs and 11 interceptions. That’s the reason there are rumors he might return for another season with the Tigers despite being eligible for the 2025 NFL draft. So far, in the 2024 season, he has completed 2866 yards. Added to that, he holds a 62% completion rate, with a QBR of 9.3 sitting at no. 13th among the top NFL passers.

Despite having okay-ish stats and highlights, Nussmeier still holds a good chance of being selected in the first-round pick if he declares. CBS analyst Chris Tresspasso has even put him in the 7th position in his recent mock draft prediction list of quarterbacks. Besides that, Tresspasso even suggested a few teams, such as the New  York Giants and the Cowboys, where Nussmeier would be a great choice.