LSU football made a change at QB in its Week 11 loss to Alabama. The Tigers benched fifth-year senior Garrett Nussmeier and rolled the dice with sophomore transfer Micahel Van Buren.
It was Van Buren’s first real action of the year. To this point, Van Buren had been reserved for blowouts. There was talk of Van Buren getting a chance in this game and with LSU’s offense struggling to score points, interim head coach Frank Wilson gave Van Buren a shot.
The results were the same, but Van Buren had some impressive moments. He managed to pick up a first down on the ground and wasn’t afraid to put the ball into tight windows.
“I thought he was solid. There were some things that were obvious, pushing the pocket, stepping up, delivering passes, escaping extended plays, and picking up first downs with his legs,” Wilson said.
How did Van Buren’s stat line compare to Nussmeier’s? Here’s a complete breakdown of both LSU quarterbacks.
Garrett Nussmeier vs. Michael Van Buren: What the stats say
Basic Stats
| Player | Completion | Yards | Yards Per Att | TDs |
| Michael Van Buren | 45% | 52 | 4.7 | 0 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | 86% | 121 | 5.6 | 0 |
Nussmeier completed passes at a much higher rate, but you’ll see in a second how important context is when looking at completion rate.
Neither QB found the end zone. It ended a streak of 14-straight games with a touchdown pass for Nussmeier.
Advanced Stats
| Player | PFF Grade | EPA/play | Success Rate | QBR |
| Michael Van Buren | 82.8 | -0.28 | 31% | 49.0 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | 58.3 | -0.14 | 36% | 79.5 |
PFF and QBR are split. PFF’s passing grade gave Van Buren the upper hand, while ESPN’s QBR liked Nussmeier’s outing more.
| Player | Time To Throw | Drops | Yards Per Att | AODT |
| Michael Van Buren | 3.01 secs | 3 | 4.7 | 7.9 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | 2.64 secs | 0 | 5.6 | 2.9 |
Here’s why context matters when looking at completion rate. Three of Van Buren’s passes were dropped while LSU didn’t drop anything from Nussmeier. Also, the LSU offense was screen happy with Nussmeier in the game, setting up easy completions. By the time Van Buren entered, LSU was trailing and had to push it down the field.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Nussmeier vs. Van Buren: How LSU QB stats compared vs. Alabama
