GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Suddenly, LSU has a quarterback again … sort of.
And – are you sitting down – a running game, too!
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier showed some of his 2024 form – good and bad. But it was LSU’s defense and a solid running game that held off South Carolina for a 20-10 win in front of 101,921 at Tiger Stadium Saturday night.
Nussmeier completed 20 of 33 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns and even rushed four times for 30 yards as the No. 11 Tigers improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. He threw two interceptions, though, including a killer one late in the third quarter from the South Carolina 9-yard line just as LSU was about to put the game away.
The Tigers finally iced it on a 22-yard field goal by Damian Ramos with 1:47 left for the 20-10 lead after a 64-yard drive in 10 plays over 3:56.
LSU’s defense had stopped South Carolina from tying the game 17-17 moments before after the Gamecocks stood at the Tigers’ 37-yard line with 7:17 to go following a 20-yard punt return by Vicari Swain. But on 4th-and-4 from the LSU 31, LSU transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane broke up a LaNorris Sellers pass to wide receiver Vandrevius Jacobs wit 5:43 left.
After LSU drove to the Ramos field goal, Sellers and South Carolina had one more chance with 1:42 left but got nowhere as the Gamecocks fell to 3-3 and 2-2 in the SEC.
It was not a beautiful win by any means.
“We won the game. That was a good thing,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said smiling, knowing lipstick wouldn’t help this one. “Winning games is a good thing. We ran the ball with much more effectiveness. It is what it is. We’ve got to get better.”
LSU sacked Sellers five times and held him to 19 net yards on 22 carries.
“We had to make sure he feels us,” Kelly said. “He felt us. He felt our football team. He felt our defense, and we made it tough for him.”
Sellers completed 15 of 27 passes for 124 yards and no touchdowns with an interception.
Meanwhile, the Tigers ran for a SEC season-high 166 yards on 30 carries for an impressive 5.5 yards a rush. Running back Caden Durham led the way with 70 yards on 15 carries.
LSU was about to take a commanding 24-10 lead late in the third quarter after driving 83 yards in five plays to a first down at the South Carolina 11-yard line. Running back Ju’Juan Johnson’s 56-yard run up the middle put the ball at the 11 after Nussmeier himself had a 21-yard scramble.
But on 2nd-and-8 from the 9-yard line, Nussmeier was hurried by the rush and threw too quickly for tight end Trey’Dez Green. Nussmeier totally missed safety Peyton Williams standing right near Green, and Williams intercepted. It was LSU’s second trip inside the South Carolina 10-yard line that ended in a turnover and Nussmeier’s second interception.
Johnson had fumbled at the goal line in the first quarter with South Carolina recovering in the end zone for a touchback when the Tigers could have gone up 10-0.
South Carolina tied the game 10-10 with the first possession of the third quarter on a 47-yard field goal by William Joyce at hte 8:43 mark.
LSU responded fast with a 75-yard drive in only four plays, never facing a third dwn and only one second down. After Nussmeier hit Green for 11 yards and then 19, he found wide receiver Kyle Parker crossing over the middle and led him perfectly for a 43-yard touchdown and 17-10 lead with 6:38 left in the third quarter.
Green had a career night, catching eight passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s pretty good at football,” Kelly deadpanned.
“I loved it,” Green said when asked about South Carolina choosing to play man-to-man coverage. “In man-to-man, I feel kike I’m going to make plays.”
Nussmeier finished the first half 13-of-21 passing for 124 yards with a 6-yard touchdown to Green for a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
And there could have been more. Nussmeier threw perfectly deep over the middle and hit wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. in the hands, but Hilton dropped it at the South Carolina 18-yard line with 3:23 left in the second quarter.
On the next play, Nussmeier threw a laser on the run that threaded the needle to Durham, who caught it between two defenders for a 17-yard gain to the Gamecocks’ 46-yard line. But on 3rd-and-12 from the South Carolina, 48, Nussmeier overthrew wide receiver Kyle Parker, and safety DQ Smith intercepted at the Gamecocks’ 26-yard line.
Leading 3-0 on a 28-yard field goal by Ramos, Nussmeier drove LSU 71 yards in 13 plays midway through the first quarter by completing 7 of 8 passes for 59 yards. His 19-yard completion to Green gave the Tigers a 1st-and-Goal at the South Carolina 7-yard line. He then hit Zavion Thomas in the flat for six yards to the 1-yard line.
LSU then apparently took a 10-0 lead as Johnson scored up the middle as a triumphant Nussmeier and teammates signaled touchdown. But no officials raised their arms up as South Carolina players began celebrating that they had recovered a fumble. Replays clearly showed Johnson fumbling before scoring as defensive tackle Monkell Goodwine popped the ball out on impact. Edge rusher Bryan Thomas Jr. recovered, and South Carolina got the ball at the 20 with a touchback.
Moments later, a would-be 10-0 LSU lead turned into a 7-3 South Carolina advantage as on 3rd-and-2, running back Matt Fuller blasted 72 yards on a simple off tackle play for a touchdown with 25 seconds to go in the first quarter.
LSU regrouped, though, and answered on its next possession with a 72-yard drive in six plays to take the 10-7 lead. And Nussmeier was sharp again, hitting 3 of 3 passes for 29 yards. He hit Green from the touchdown on a 6-yard pass with 13:01 to go in the second quarter.
In an even more uplifting development, LSU ran the ball well on that touchdown drive as Durham gained five up the middle, the bolted 23 yards up the guy for a first down at the South Carolina 35-yard line.
The Tigers finished the first half with 69 yards on 18 carries. Not great, but LSU gained just 57 yards on 22 carries in its last game – the 24-19 loss at Ole Miss two weeks ago. Durham led the way with 50 yards on 11 carries.
Nussmeier provided a scare in the second quarter when he limped off the field after a failed third down, favoring his left leg. But he returned to the field on LSU’s next series and showed no signs of an injury for the rest of the game.
LSU had a golden chance to take a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game as Sellers fumbled on the Gamecocks’ first play at his own 17-yard line with edge rusher Patrick Payton recovering. But Nussmeier threw behind an open Green at the 3-yard line for an incompletion. As the Tiger Stadium crowd booed the incompletion, the Tigers settled for Ramos’ field goal and a 3-0 lead.
“You can’t get near the goal line three times and come up with three points,” Kelly said. “Except for our own mistakes, we controlled the flow of the game. But the bottom line, I loved how our players competed.”
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