Announcers express concern for Tigers’ quarterback’s decision making, Kelly uses late interception as learning opportunity
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had a rough night against Florida Saturday night, but still came away with the victory.
Nussmeier completed 15-of-27 passes for 220 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Gators defense.
While he was considered a Heisman trophy candidate going into the season, the fifth-year senior hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations during a 3-0 start to the season.
After Nussmeier threw an interception just before the two-minute time out, ESPN’s team of announcers play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough and color analyst Greg McElroy didn’t hold back their disappointment of his decision making.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>"What a terrible decision by (Garrett) Nussmeier…" – Sean McDonough <br><br>"Just can't do that. I mean, you're a fifth-year senior… This is just careless. I mean, what's he doing?… Be a mature decision-maker. That right there, farthest thing from mature." – Greg McElroy 🏈🎙️ <a href=”
14, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
“What a terrible decision by Nussmeier,” McDonough said during the broadcast.
McElroy doubled down and shared his displeasure with the veteran’s thought process.
“Just can’t do that. I mean, you’re a fifth-year senior,” McElroy said. “This is just careless. I mean, what’s he doing? Be a mature decision-maker. That right there, farthest thing from mature.”
Nussmeier has a history of trusting his arm a bit too much with 43 touchdowns compared to 21 interceptions across five seasons.
Although his arrant throw didn’t result in a massive comeback, the Tigers must be leery of trusting its star passer too much moving forward if his decision isn’t up to par.
Despite a porous offensive performance, LSU still forced Florida quarterback DJ Lagway into five interceptions Saturday night, including a 58-yard pick six by Dashawn Spears in the third quarter to make score the game’s final score, 20-10.
The ABC broadcast caught LSU coach Brian Kelly upset with Nussmeier after his fourth quarter interception.
Kelly wasn’t happy with his senior quarterback’s mistake, but chose to defend him while making it out out to be a learning opportunity.
“Obviously, the interception can’t happen,” Kelly said. “I’m not going to beat him up here. He knows. We’ve got to take care of the football.”