The No. 13 LSU Tigers got a massive reality check this past weekend against Ole Miss, with the Rebels handing the Bayou Bengals a 24-19 loss that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests.
One of the primary causes of LSU’s embarrassing road loss to one of its biggest rivals was the continued struggles of the offense, which was once again unable to gain any sort of momentum.
Senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was also limited by the Rebels, a trend that has continued to crop up from week to week as the preseason Heisman favorite has struggled to live up to expectations.
Many have begun to wonder whether the lingering abdominal injury the projected first-round draft pick has been dealing with is actually more severe than the coaching staff initially suggested, and reports even began to circulate earlier in the week that Nussmeier actually needed surgery.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly was asked about the rumors circling his senior QB during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, and quickly shut down any speculation regarding Nussmeier going under the knife.
“That’s misinformation. Not based on any facts. It’s silly that it’s out there,” Kelly said, per Tiger Droppings. “Early on, he had an ab strain, not a core injury. And it’s been slow to heal. He’s on the backside of that, and he’s getting better.”
Nussmeier may not need surgery, as Kelly suggests, but it’s clear that his play has been significantly disrupted over the first 5 weeks of the season.
If the Tigers are unable to ratchet things up on offense over the course of the second half of the season, then this could end up being an extremely disappointing campaign for both Kelly and LSU.
