Is LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier The Best Quarterback on Alabama’s Schedule?

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The No. 11 Alabama football team heads to Baton Rouge this weekend for an SEC test that will go a long way in deciding the Crimson Tide’s post season fate. Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes depend on defeating No. 15 LSU in Death Valley as first year head coach Kalen DeBoer is still searching for his first conference win on the road.

The Crimson Tide faces one of its biggest tests in terms of environment as Tiger Stadium is routinely one of the most difficult places to play, but the challenge doesn’t stop there as LSU has one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, led by redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

“Garrett Nussmeier reminds me of a lot of Mac Jones. Same kind of journey,” Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said in July on ESPN. “Not the same style of player — same kind of journey, stuck with the program, sat behind some really good players. Waited for his opportunity. Developed that whole time. Was smart enough to understand that it was important that when he got a chance to play, he was going to play well. Not about being frustrated that he wasn’t playing at that moment. I think those guys can sometimes be pretty dangerous. He’s probably more ready to play than people think.”

Nussmeier was exactly as Saban suggested in the summer, ready. The first year starting quarterback spent time marinating behind Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and has guided LSU to the No. 6 passing offense in all of college football. His 2,627 yards are good for seventh in the nation and is just second in the SEC behind Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.

It’s not just the yards for Nussmeier, but he’s also excelling at the most important part of offensive football, scoring touchdowns. His 20 passing touchdowns put him in a five-way tie for eighth in the nation ahead of Heisman favorite Dillon Gabriel from Oregon and Georgia’s Carson Beck.

“I think he’s an aggressive player, right?” Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said. “Sometimes you live by the sword and die by the sword a little bit. We’re a team that is certainly going to be focused on taking the ball off of people. We’ve got to be able to show enough looks and pictures and change some things up. Put eyes on the quarterback. Do all the different things to be able to create some confusion we’ve been able to create with some really good quarterbacks. to Carson Beck who’s a great quarterback and has had a hard time. He hasn’t turned the ball over very much. If you can find creative ways to give them different looks and pictures, you’re going to give yourself an opportunity to take the ball away At the same time, this dude. has made a lot of plays being the guy he is. He’s an aggressive player. You think about – Brett Favre threw a lot of picks in his career, but he also made a hell of a lot of plays. This guy has really done some. similar things in that regard. Some of that you live with a little bit as an offense, but from a defensive perspective, we need to make sure that taking the ball off people is really the identity of who we are as a defense. That needs to show up on Saturday night. “

The Alabama defense has made a living off turning the football over, particularly in recent weeks coming away with 10 takeaways in the last three contests. The Crimson Tide is No. 16 in turnover margin at plus-seven for the season with 11 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. Nussmeier has only thrown nine interceptions all year, making it seem unlikely he’ll turn the ball over against the Crimson Tide this weekend.

However a closer look at LSU’s best three opponents shows Nussmeier is a bit more careless with the football than the number suggest. Against South Carolina, Ole Miss and Texas A&M the signal caller had six interceptions with a seventh erased by penalty, showing his propensity to get reckless when the competition improves.

What Happens in all nine Nussmeier interceptions?

1. USC rushes three on the last play of the game. Nussmeier’s pass is a miss out in front of Mason Taylor.
2. South Carolina rushes five, Kyle Kennard gets his hand on Nussmeier before the pass, rushing the LSU QB. The ball is out before the sack but is innacurate due to pressure and intercepted. The interception is erased due to a horse collar tackle.
3. South Carolina simulated pressure, show seven, rush four. Nussmeier throws an interception right to a Gamecocks defender who dropped out of rush.
4. South Alabama simulated pressure, show four, rush three with a Tackle-End stunt. Nussmeier rolls out right and makes the correct read, but badly underthrows the ball down the sideline for an interception.
5. South Alabama simulated pressure, show five, rush four with the two interior tackles on a twist. Nussmeier has plenty of time and moves to his second read but his pass is behind Kyren Lacy and is picked after the backside defender tips the ball.
6. Ole Miss rushes four straight up and wins a one-on-one matchup on LSU right tackle Emery Jones Jr. Nussmeier fades nicely with pressure but opts to get rid of the football instead of taking a sack. Nussmeier’s pass goes off an LSU lineman’s helmet and carroms into the teeth of the Rebels’ defense for an interception.
7. Ole Miss only rushed three but got good interior pressure on Nussmeier preventing him from stepping into his throw. Nussmeier had time but remained locked into Kyren Lacy down the field and his pass ended up short and into the hands of former Alabama defensive back Trey Amos.
8. Texas A&M rushes four with an End-Tackle stunt and they flush Nussmeier out of the pocket. The LSU quarterback rolls left but decides to throw back right into the action and is intercepted by an Aggie defender.
9. Texas A&M rushes four straight up and appears to run either Cover Two or Cover Four behind it. Nussmeier incorrectly identifies it as man coverage and fires out to Aaron Anderson on an outside hitch route but is intercepted by the flat defender.
10. Texas A&M runs a wild concept to force Nussmeier into a bad decision for his most recent interception. The Aggies appear to rush four, but only three come with one of the interior lineman looping all the way around the right side. Texas A&M’s left end drops out of the rush and sits on LSU’s running back intercepting Nussmeier when the QB chooses his check down in the face of pressure.

Simulated pressures and confusing pictures are a constant theme as we look at each of Nussmeier’s miscues throughout the season. He often struggles when forced out of the pocket as his ball placement and decision making becomes erratic.

Alabama has shown simulated pressures throughout the season, utilizing packages featuring multiple linebackers and pass rushing specialists to confuse quarterbacks from a personnel standpoint. Wommack credited changing the defensive picture post-snap on Beck for his unit’s first half success against Georgia and will likely utilize a similar strategy in Death Valley this weekend.

“They’ve been thrown for over 330 yards a game,” Alabama cornerbacks coach Mo Linguist said. “You’ve seen what they’re doing in conference play. Their quarterback, Nussmeier, he’s got a live arm, 20 touchdown passes and he’s really spreading the field. They can throw it horizontally, they can throw it vertically, they understand the spacing and the timing of the pass game. They’re down to the details of how they want to move the ball with the quarterback’s arm and when the game’s on the line, you look at South Carolina, you look at Ole Miss – LSU versus South Carolina, LSU versus Ole Miss, those game the quarterback and the receivers had to make plays in the fourth quarter to win the game and they did those things. We understand we’ve got a heavy task ahead of us. of throw game that they have and the amount of yards that they’re throwing for, we’ve got to put a really good plan together to put ourselves in a position to go out there on the road at LSU, we all know what those night games are like and what it’s going to take to come up with a W on the road.”