ESPN analyst Booger McFarland praises Garrett Nussmeier: 'He's tough as nails'

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and LSU survived a scary day on Saturday against South Carolina, falling behind 17-0 in front of a raucous crowd but somehow finding a way to fight all the way back.

By day’s end, Nussmeier and the Tigers were walking out with a 36-33 win. And Nussmeier got his flowers from another former LSU great.

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“Garrett Nussmeier, he’s tough as nails,” said ESPN analyst and former Tigers star Booger McFarland. “His dad Doug, former offensive coordinator in the NFL, he’s got to be proud of his son. Because his son waited his turn to quarterback at LSU behind a Heisman Trophy guy and in the era of the transfer portal he didn’t transfer. And he talked about yeah, he’s from Texas, but Louisiana’s in his blood. And you can see how much pride he has playing and putting on the purple and gold in the way he played.

“That defensive line from South Carolina might be the best in the country. Those two defensive ends, unreal. And they came after him time and time again and he stepped up and made plays. A lot to be cleaned up on both sides, but I think you’ve got to give Brian Kelly — any time you go on the road in the SEC and you get a win down 17-0, they’ll put that one in their back pocket and they’ll lean on that one the rest of the year.”

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McFarland seemed very impressed with Nussmeier, in part for sticking around rather than transferring, and in part because of his unflappability on Saturday.

Nussmeier finished the game with 285 yards passing and two touchdowns, doing enough in the passing game to keep LSU within striking distance.

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The team’s grittiness did the rest, as Garrett Nussmeier and the Tigers simply refused to lose.

“First off they talked about the resilience and the resolve,” McFarland said. “When you’re down 17-0 on the road in the SEC it’s easy to pack it in. But for Brian Kelly to get that team to keep fighting, it shows you they believe in the coach, No. 1, and the perseverance that they’ve had. And to go out and execute in a hostile environment, I can’t tell you how tough that is, because 70,000 people are against you. And the moment you do something wrong, they’re cheering. So they showed me a lot.”

The other thing the Tigers showed the current ESPN analyst is that they have an answer in the backfield. Following the injury to John Emery, that was a major question mark.

But the Tigers appear to have their answer in Caden Durham, who ran 11 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns, giving Garrett Nussmeier someone he could lean on.

“From an Xs and Os standpoint they’ve got to get better at running the football. I thought they found something in the freshman Caden Durham,” McFarland said. “He’s more explosive, better vision. When he got the ball, as an old man once told me, it looked different when he got the ball. So when he came in the game he added a little something.”

With the win, LSU improved to 2-1 on the season. Garrett Nussmeier and the Tigers will take on UCLA next.