LSU SUFFER 4TH LOSS IN 1ST GAME SINCE KELLY FIRING + CHANGE QBs @ ALABAMA (20-9)

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

Somehow, LSU gave up just 20 points @ Alabama and yet still lost by 11....

....LSU stuffed Alabama for 2.2 rushing yards per carry, 56 total with a leading rusher of 21, and still couldn't control the tempo or flow of the game...

LSU held Alabama to 4/13 on 3rd down attempts, Ty Simpson threw for only 89 yards in the 2nd half, star WR Ryan Williams caught a slim 3 passes for 33 yards, and Alabama scored just 3 points over the final 2 quarters....and it didn't matter....

....Harold Perkins produced a remarkable 4th quarter strip, sack, and fumble recovery all on the same play, holding the game to a one score deficit....but did nothing else for the other 60 snaps....

Interim Head Coach Frank Wilson even made the change many demanded, swapping out QB Garrett Nussmeier for Michael Van Buren....and even though the results were better, the game was closer, and MVB gave LSU a glimmer of hope, it remained only a spicy footnote of personnel swapping as LSU lost a turgid contest in Tuscaloosa....

The 2025 edition of LSU vs Alabama won't be a classic you'll be watching again anytime soon, and while the narrative around the Tigers' 4th defeat will feature talk of a major "gulf in class and talent" or the numerous coaching changes for LSU ahead of the game, the truth is:

If LSU had better quarterback play for all 4 quarters, avoided bonehead penalties, and a costly Bauer Sharp fumble, this team may have been able to compete, and possibly win this game.

On a night where Alabama were nowhere near their best, scoring just 20 points, coughing up the ball, and making routine errors, LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier threw away a golden opportunity to save the season...not only for the Tigers, but for his own fading collegiate career & free falling NFL Draft stock.

We witnessed Nussmeier's worst outing as a Tiger, looking disinterested, confused, even aloof.....and his poor play directly cost the Tigers any chance in this game.

Missing wide open receivers, appearing shaken, disturbed, even haunted as he approached each play, Garrett Nussmeier looked a shell of himself....as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

One sequence paints the picture clearly in stark colors:

Inside the 10 yard line, with the game in the balance, LSU needed to call a timeout to save him from consecutive delay of game penalties....Nuss unbelievably acting like he had 35 seconds when he had 2 left.

It was shocking....but the situation became much worse:

Nuss followed those plays by taking one of the worst sacks in recent memory, turning away from a wide open gap in the pocket, and spinning right into an Alabama defender, nearly costing the Tigers a field goal & blowing up a potential touchdown drive in 3 plays of absolute catastrophic madness.

He walked away from that inexcusable, all time low sequence with the look of a guilty participant in a crime, fleeing the scene as he gawked wide eyed towards the field, hiding amongst the beleaguered safety of the sidelines.

At one point, Frank Wilson couldn't help himself, launching into his starting quarterback with full voiced gusto, letting him have it before the national television audience.

An empty, 10,000 mile long gaze was all Nuss could offer his interim Head Coach, his face looking zoned out, and his body language suggesting he'd rather shrug than play another snap.

After that exchange, Coach Wilson made the move, throwing QB Michael Van Buren into the game, benching Nussmeier, and giving his team something to play for in the final quarter and a half.

Although Van Buren gave the Tigers' woeful offense some sort of life, and despite LSU's defense fighting valiantly, keeping the Tigers in the game until the final 3 minutes, continued errors, 10 total penalties, dropped passes at the most critical times (Trey'Dez Green...why oh why???), an ever lengthening injury list, and the wasted opportunities throughout the first 3 quarters decided this game.....

And after 9 weeks, it's all too clear:

Even without Brian Kelly or Joe Sloan's careless ineptitude, this is still a poorly coached, softly led, grossly overrated team....stained by disappointment everywhere you look.

In 9 games, LSU have scored over 25 points in just 1 game.....vs Southeastern....

In 9 games, LSU has just 1 receiver or rusher clock 100+ yards....

In 9 games, QB Garrett Nussmeier hasn't thrown for 300 yards....

In early September, Garrett Nussmeier started @ Clemson as one of the top 3 Heisman candidates in the country....exactly 2 months later, he appears lost, disinterested, consumed with so much frustration to the point of self destruction, and is now riding the bench after leading one of LSU's worst offensive seasons in memory....

The "Legion of Zoom" receiving corps was supposed to be among the most loaded, talented and deepest pass catching groups in the country......instead, only 2 receivers have over 300 yards, while Barion Brown, Chris Hilton Jr, Nic Anderson, Zavion Thomas, Kyle Parker, and Aaron Anderson combine for 9 touchdowns altogether, no one eclipsing 100 yards in a game, while both Hilton Jr and Aaron Anderson failed to reach the end zone after 9 Saturdays....

This was supposed to be the season Blake Baker cracked the Harold Perkins Code.....but we've actually seen yet another lost campaign sequel to the No Man's Land wilderness of his last two seasons; In fact, backup linebacker West Weeks basically doubles Perkins' amount of tackles for loss (6.5 to 3.5) and tops him in total tackles.

Even Whit Weeks......while his performances weren't a disappointment, the superstar linebacker missed most of the season (not just from his current injury, but from his Week 3 ejection after just 3 plays, alongside Baker's more limited deployment of Weeks through 7 weeks due to his prior New Year's Eve 2024 injury).

Despite a solid amount of defensive pressure, Blake Baker's leading pass rusher has just 2 sacks on the year...

When LSU fumbled the ball forward for 7 yards in the 1st quarter, it was a longer gain than most of our 2025 rushing plays....

Almost everywhere you look, disappointment reigns supreme at LSU, and it's a damn shame watching chief rivals A&M and Alabama enjoy bristling seasons inside the top 5....while the Tigers face another 4 weeks of on-field pain, a further 3 months of tough decisions, and a long look in the mirror following this (now) complete 2025 collapse.

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

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