Brian Kelly Hoping For Much More From QB Garrett Nussmeier And Offense Vs. South Carolina

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU coach Brian Kelly spoke of the type offense he wants against South Carolina Saturday, but he didn’t make any promises.

“We have to be more consistent on offense and have more of a balanced approach,” he said after practice Thursday. “It’s been on again, off again. We have to be more productive. Is it going to be on Saturday? I hope so.”

“The product we see on Saturdays – it’s terrible. It’s sometimes unwatchable.”
-LSU 2019 national champion nose tackle on current Tigers:https://t.co/HBALCiSZG3

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 8, 2025

The No. 11 Tigers (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) and South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC) kick off at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network. LSU is No. 117 in the nation in rushing offense at 104.8 yards a game, No. 81 in total offense at 364.2 yards a game and No. 80 in scoring with a 27-point average. And quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is No. 54 in passing yards a game at 231.8 after nursing an abdomen strain since August.

“We need to start faster,” Kelly said. “We’ve been a little bit here, a little bit there. We need a much more explosive start. Let’s see how this team goes for four quarters. We need to be better in the first half.”

“He’s ready to go. We wanted to use that (open date) as a recovery week for him.” … Brian Kelly. https://t.co/TmQNled8Xm

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 7, 2025

South Carolina’s defense is not bad. The Gamecocks are No. 70 against the run with 143.2 yards allowed a game, 44th in total defense at 323.4 yards allowed a game, 33rd in points allowed at 18.8 and No. 31 against the pass at 180 yards a game.

“It has to be,” Kelly said when asked if the vertical passing game will improve. “We were 1 of 7 throwing the ball down the field (in the loss at Ole Miss on Sept. 27). We need to throw it, and we need to catch it. That is integral to an offense that is complete. We’ve got to get the ball out on the perimeter. Sometimes we have it on one end and not on the other.”

GARRETT NUSSMEIER UPDATE

Kelly was asked if there is a noticeable difference physically in Nussmeier after a light week during the week of the open date and more work this past week. But Kelly did not answer the question specifically about Nussmeier.

“Well, I think we have to be careful because when we get a bonus day on Monday, you keep adding on and adding on,” he said. LSU takes Mondays off after Saturday games.

“You’ve got to be really congnizant of the fact that you added a good hour, hour and 10 minutes to their work load,” he said. “We’ve been appropriate in the work that they’ve gotten. Their legs are fresh. I know they feel good. I think we struck a pretty good chord this week.”

“I didn’t like our plan.”
– Brian Kelly last week after LSU rarely tried to run in Ole Miss loss. If that happens again, he should change the plan. He’s the Head Coach. COLUMNhttps://t.co/KBojYLmc9I

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 6, 2025

Perhaps tired of Nussmeier questions from the media, Kelly did volunteer more on Nussmeier during his weekly radio show later Thursday night.

“He’s better now than he was,” he said. “I got his numbers today. He was throwing the ball with the kind of velocity that he was last year.”

Nussmeier averaged 311.7 yards passing a game last season for sixth in the nation.

“So, I’m excited about watching Garrett play,” Kelly said. “And he’s taken a lot of the heat, because the quarterback always does. But it’s 11 players got to play together. And if all of them are playing, and our quarterback as we know him is playing up to his level, because he’s healthy, I’m bullish on the Tigers.”