LSU's Garrett Nussmeier overcomes adversity to secure OT win

BATON ROUGE, La. — If anything, Garrett Nussmeier's college career has taught him patience, whether he's waiting to lead LSU's offense or enduring one of the worst performances of his career on Saturday night.

Nussmeier knows: If there is still time, he still has the opportunity to change his fate – and that of his team. LSU's defense gave Nussmeier one last attempt to reach the end zone against No. 9 Ole Miss and then a bonus chance in overtime to secure an improbable win.

The quarterback took advantage of both, securing LSU's first and only lead when Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy in the end zone, capping a 29-26 victory and setting off a Tiger Stadium field rush. Nussmeier, who replaced Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 NFL draft pick Jayden Daniels as LSU's starting quarterback, completed just 22 of 51 passes – the third-highest total number of attempts in team history – and was intercepted twice. But his late surge helped keep the 13th-ranked Tigers undefeated in SEC play and very much alive in the College Football Playoff. LSU won its eighth straight home game against Ole Miss.

“I probably had one of the worst games of my career tonight,” said Nussmeier, who attempted 16 passes of 20 or more yards and completed just two of his first 14 before scoring on the final two. “The best part is that I can learn from it and we got the win. I'm looking forward to getting in the film room and fixing these things and correcting the mistakes. Hopefully this will be a big growing moment for me.”

Coach Brian Kelly doesn't just hope that Nussmeier will make progress with Saturday night's win. He knows the redshirt junior has taken a significant step in a game that was a source of frustration for more than three quarters.

“Today he has grown more than ever before,” Kelly said. “This was a growth game for him and you may look at it differently, but as a coach the development he was able to show during this game and at the end will be of great benefit to him.”

LSU didn't score on its first five drives and reached Ole Miss territory just once. Then, after a 75-yard touchdown drive, the Tigers had four consecutive possessions inside the Rebels' 30-yard line, but these only amounted to three field goals and one missed field goal attempt.

“It would have been easier for us who watched the game to be frustrated, but Garrett wasn't frustrated and what we saw at the end was why I thought it was a great growth game,” Kelly said. “He made the plays when he had to make them.”

As Lacy walked back out of the south end zone after the game-winning touchdown, he and Nussmeier hugged at the 15-yard line. Nussmeier targeted Lacy a game-high 16 times, catching five of them for 111 yards.

He also found Aaron Anderson on fourth-and-5 for a 23-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left in regulation, completing another 75-yard scoring drive.

“Nuss played a great game,” Lacy said. “He comes every day, he doesn’t cut corners in the weight room, he gets on my butt if I try to miss a rep. We support each other no matter what happens. …I love my brother.”

Nussmeier and Lacy wouldn't have had a chance for heroics if it weren't for a defense that bounced back after a historically poor performance last year at Ole Miss. LSU allowed 55 points and 706 yards in a loss to the Rebels, by far the most ever given up by a Tigers defense.

Although LSU has implemented a new program this season under coordinator Blake Baker, several of the same Tigers defensive backs and 2023 Ole Miss offensive stars — including quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Tre Harris — were on the field Saturday.

“We were excited for this team,” said cornerback Zy Alexander, who intercepted a Dart pass early in the fourth quarter to thwart one of several promising Ole Miss drives. “We've been marking Ole Miss since we put out the calendar so we know we're ready for this game.”

After allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter last year, LSU didn't allow a single touchdown in the second half. Led by Bradyn Swinson and Major Burns, the Tigers had six sacks, the most under Kelly, and linebacker Whit Weeks had 18 tackles and a forced fumble.

“We didn’t say anything about last year, but that was in the back of our minds as a defense,” Weeks said. “We knew we had to come out here and play a lot better football and we did that.”

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin lamented that his team “should have won that game,” while Kelly felt his team was “always…a step behind.” But LSU, feeling like it missed the season opener against USC leading to Kelly's infamous table slam, made the most significant plays in the biggest moments.

“At the beginning of the year the preparation was excellent, but we didn’t see that in the performances,” Kelly said. “They weren't as sharp as I thought. Now it’s starting to translate a little better.”