LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier narrowly avoided a horrifying neck injury after getting his head twisted on a facemask during the Tigers’ 20-9 loss to No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The incident occurred early in the third quarter, when Nussmeier got whipped around on a brutal facemask from Crimson Tide lineman Jordan Renaud, who pulled the senior field general’s helmet clean off his head.
Nussmeier popped right back up and carried on with the game, seemingly unaffected by the frightening scene.
“Lost his helmet, and a flag thrown by every official within 50 miles of Tuscaloosa,” said ABC play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough.
“That was violent right there,” added color commentator Greg McElroy, reacting to the replay. “You see his head go all the way to the side — goodness gracious.”
Still, the fifth-year signal caller struggled mightily in the contest. While he completed 18-of-21 passes for 121 yards, Nussmeier looked visibly distressed in the pocket and was ultimately benched late in the third quarter for sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr.
The quarterback swap was a bold decision from interim head coach Frank Wilson, leading the charge for the time since LSU dismissed Brian Kelly last month after nearly four years.
Wilson told reporters after the game that Nussmeier looked good early on, but the team needed to switch things up down the stretch.
“I thought he did some good things early on. We moved him out the pocket, and I thought he started the game off extremely well. As we went into the depth of the game, we just thought it was an opportunity for us to change up, to throw their defense off,” Wilson said.
It didn’t work. Van Buren completed just 5-of-11 targets for 52 yards and no touchdowns — getting sacked twice — as the Tigers (5-4) failed to capitalize against a sloppy Crimson Tide (8-1), who held on for their eighth straight win.
LSU, losers of three straight, aim to get things back on track when they host Arkansas (2-7) on Nov. 15.
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