LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier will miss his second straight game on Saturday.
Interim Tigers coach Frank Wilson announced Thursday that Nussmeier was out and Michael Van Buren would start against Western Kentucky. Nussmeier has been dealing with an abdominal injury all season and aggravated the injury a week ago. That paved the way for Van Buren to start the first game of his LSU career against Arkansas.
Nussmeier entered the season as a Heisman favorite and a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. But an abdominal injury that happened during fall camp has significantly hampered Nussmeier all season.
The LSU offense has looked out of sync all year, though you can’t blame it solely on Nussmeier and his injury. However, it’s been clear that he’s been hampered at points during the season. Through nine games, Nussmeier is 194-of-288 passing for 1,927 yards and 12 TDs with 5 interceptions.
Nussmeier’s completion percentage is up from 2024, but nearly every other statistic is down. He’s averaging one yard fewer per pass attempt after throwing for over 4,000 yards and 29 TDs to 12 interceptions in 2024.
Yet Nussmeier hadn’t missed a game until the win over Arkansas, though he was removed early from the Tigers' loss to Alabama in Wilson's first game in charge. In early October, now-former LSU coach Brian Kelly said that Nussmeier’s injury had been “slow to heal” but that the QB didn’t need surgery for the injury.
A healthy Nussmeier will be an intriguing option for NFL teams during the pre-draft process, but it’s hard to see how he will be a first-round pick. He more likely could be a second-day pick based on how his workouts go.
After facing Western Kentucky, LSU visits Oklahoma in the final week of the regular season before a bowl game. Van Buren, who played in 10 games as a freshman in 2024, was 21-of-31 passing for 221 yards and a TD in LSU’s 23-22 win over the Razorbacks.