The LSU offense has been just good enough to scrape by so far this season. The defense is playing at an elite level, which has led the Tigers to a 5-1 record with a 2-1 mark in SEC play so far. LSU enters Week 8 ranked as the No. 10 team in the country in the AP Poll, and the offense will need to be in a better rhythm going up against No. 17 Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon. That's because the Commodores rank 7th in the country scoring 43.2 points per game this season.
The LSU running game finally got going on a consistent basis against South Carolina, as the Tigers ran for a season-high 166 yards and 5.5 yards per carry. Garrett Nussmeier looked healthier, but he still made some bad mistakes that led to a pair of interceptions. Through six games of the 2025 season, Nussmeier's interception problem continues to be a concern for LSU fans.
Garrett Nussmeier's interception problem still lingers
Nussmeier was tied for the SEC lead with 12 interceptions last season. Coming into his second season as LSU's full-time starter and fifth season of college football overall, Tiger fans were hoping that Nussmeier would be able to cut down on interceptions. Through six games, he's still struggled with that problem.
So far this season, Nussmeier has thrown five interceptions, which is tied for the third-most in the SEC. The only games in which he hasn't thrown a pick was against Clemson in the season opener and FCS Southeastern Louisiana in Week 4. He threw a pair of interceptions against South Carolina, one of which came at the goal line and killed a great Tiger scoring chance.
Nussmeier has made several poor decisions that have led to interceptions this season. On several occasions, Nussmeier was rolling out of the pocket and tried to force a ball over the middle instead of simply throwing it away. Opposing defenses made sure to take advantage. Those are the types of decisions that a seasoned veteran QB simply can't be making.
Nussmeier has been playing through a torso injury so far this season. Early on, it was obvious that his arm strength wasn't the same as what it was last season. His interception against Louisiana Tech came on a severly underthrown ball that Nussmeier made in his sleep last season. While he looked healthier in LSU's most recent contest against South Carolina, it doesn't appear that he is a full 100%. Earlier this week, Brian Kelly gave an encouraging update on Nussmeier, saying that his injury is on the "right side of feeling good," and that the Tiger QB didn't feel any pain on Sunday following the game. That is certainly good news for Tiger fans, but Nussmeier's inconsistent play is still worrisome.
It's also worth mentioning that the Tigers have asked Nussmeier to put the ball in the air more than any other QB in the SEC so far this season. Nussmeier is the only SEC QB in the SEC with 200+ pass attempts on the season. Having a more balanced approach could do wonders for the LSU offense.
When healthy, Nussmeier has shown that he is capable of playing at a high level in the SEC. But his play so far in 2025 has been a big step back from what he displayed in 2024. Hopefully he is able to get fully healthy and can showcase his elite skill set the rest of the way.