Will LSU Be Making a Change at Quarterback for Alabama Matchup?

Alabama football will be facing an LSU team on Nov. 8 (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) that has undergone a lot of changes in recent days. The Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) have a new head coach after Brian Kelly's dismissal on Sunday, but they will not have a new starting quarterback.

Interim head coach Frank Wilson was asked Wednesday during the weekly SEC coaches' teleconference if fifth-year senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier would still be entrenched as the starter going into the game against the No. 4 Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0 SEC), with both teams on a bye this weekend. Nussmeier has passed for fewer than 200 yards in two of the Tigers' three defeats.

"Fair question. I think Garrett is our starting quarterback," Wilson said. "I think he gives us a great opportunity to be efficient with our offense."

LSU was expected to be one of the contenders to win a national championship this season. However, the Tigers have lost three of their last four games. On Saturday opposite Texas A&M, during Kelly's final game as head coach, Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren Jr. entered late and had 50 yards and a touchdown in three completions. LSU lost 49-25.

"I think Michael has a skillset that adds value to our football team, that will be called upon, that could help us win the game," Wilson said. "At the end of the day, we're gonna do what it takes to win the game, but Garrett Nussmeier is our starting quarterback."

Nussmeier, the son of former Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, threw for 239 yards against the Crimson Tide at home last season. He only had one touchdown pass to go with two interceptions, and the Tigers lost the game 42-13. Against Texas A&M this past weekend, Nussmeier, who was thought to be among the Heisman Trophy favorites entering the 2025 season, accounted for 168 yards and one score through the air on 22 completions.

Elsewhere on the Tigers' roster, star linebacker Whit Weeks has missed the team's last two games because of an ankle injury. His status for the Alabama game is not set in stone, and he would be a noteworthy absence: Weeks had 15 tackles (16 solo) in last season's meeting.

"He had an evaluation that's trending, we got positive news on him," Wilson said. "I'm optimistic, more now than ever before, that the probability of him playing in this game is a reality. I don't know that for a fact just yet... I would say he's ascending and the trajectory's in the right direction."

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