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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
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 Saturday night.
Nussmeier knows that if any time remains, he still has an opportunity to change his fortune — and his team’s. LSU’s defense gave Nussmeier one final drive to reach the end zone against No. 9 Ole Miss, and then a bonus opportunity in overtime to secure an improbable win.
The quarterback capitalized on both as LSU secured its first and only lead when Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy in the end zone, capping a 29-26 win and setting off a field storm at Tiger Stadium. Nussmeier, who replaced Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 NFL draft pick Jayden Daniels as LSU’s starting quarterback, completed only 22 of 51 passes — the third-highest attempts total in team history — and twice was intercepted. But his late surge helped keep the 13th-ranked Tigers undefeated in SEC play and very much alive in the College Football Playoff picture. LSU won its eighth consecutive home game against Ole Miss.
“I probably had one of the worst games in my career tonight,” said Nussmeier, who attempted 16 passes of 20 or more yards and completed just two of his first 14 before connecting on the final two. “The best part about that is how I get to learn from it, and we got the win. I’m excited to get in the film room and fix those things and correct the mistakes. Hopefully, this will be a huge growth moment for me.”
Coach Brian Kelly isn’t merely hoping Nussmeier grows from Saturday night’s win. He knows the redshirt junior took a significant step within a game that, for more than three quarters, brought on plenty of frustration.
“He grew more today than any time that he’s been here,” Kelly said. “That was a growth game for him, and you may see it differently, but as a coach, the growth that he was able to exhibit through that game and at the end, is going to serve him well.”
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 reach inside the Rebels’ 30-yard line, but they amounted to only three field goals and a missed field goal attempt.
“It would have been easier for us to be frustrated, those who watched the game, 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 needed to make them.”
As Lacy walked back from the south end zone following the game-winning touchdown, he and Nussmeier embraced around the 15-yard line. Nussmeier targeted Lacy a game-high 16 times and connected on 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, ending another 75-yard scoring push.
“Nuss played a hell of a game,” Lacy said. “He comes in every single day, he doesn’t cut any corners in the weight room, he gets on my ass when I try to skip a rep. We’ve got each other’s back no matter what. … I love my brother.”
Nussmeier and Lacy wouldn’t have had the chance for heroics if not for a defense that redeemed itself 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 surrendered by a Tigers defense.
Although LSU has introduced a new scheme this season under coordinator Blake Baker, several of the same Tigers defenders and Ole Miss offensive stars from 2023 — including quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Tre Harris — were on the field Saturday.
“We’ve been looking forward to 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. “Since we got the calendar out, we marked Ole Miss, so we know we’d be ready for that game.”
After allowing 21 fourth-quarter points last year, LSU did not surrender a touchdown in the second half. Led by Bradyn Swinson and Major Burns, the Tigers had six sacks, their most under Kelly, and linebacker Whit Weeks had 18 tackles and a forced fumble.
“We haven’t said anything about last year, but we had that in the back of our mind as a defense,” Weeks said. “We knew we had to come out here and play way better football, and that’s what we were able to do.”
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin lamented that his team “should’ve won that game,” while Kelly felt his team was “always … one step behind.” But LSU, which felt it let the season opener against USC slip away, prompting Kelly’s infamous table slam, made the most significant plays in the biggest moments.
“Early in the year, the preparation was outstanding, but we weren’t seeing it in the performances,” Kelly said. “They weren’t as sharp as I thought they would be. Now it’s starting to translate a little bit better.”