Brian Kelly shares how to gain the confidence of LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers control their own destiny with four games left on the 2024 schedule.

After suffering their second loss last weekend, the Bayou Bengals now have a 6-2 (3-1) record on the season.

In a battle between a pair of top 15 programs in College Station, LSU and Texas A&M square off in one of the biggest games of the week.

Tigers signal caller Garrett Nussmeier quickly became one of those things he’ll put in the rearview mirror after throwing three interceptions.

But Kelly and company understand that there are several parts that contributed to these accidents, and it doesn’t fall solely on Nussmeier’s shoulders.

“It’s the process of starting first at quarterback,” Kelly said Tuesday. “Some of these ladies and gentlemen who were here in Jaden Daniels’ first year, we threw for 86 yards against Auburn. We barely got out of Arkansas after a 13-10 win. We got asses against Tennessee. Jaden Daniels, they I’m ready to put a pam ‘tant in Washington right now.There were many, many people here in Baton who wanted his Rouge job early in his tenure.

“So that’s the life of a quarterback at any level, and Garrett knows that. His father is a defense coach. He’s built for it, and he’s not a guy who’s going to shy away from it.”

What stood out for Kelly was that Nussmeier took full responsibility Saturday night after facing Texas A&M.

“He was in the press room and took full responsibility for what happened, and as you know, the defenseman gets too much credit and too much blame,” Kelly said. “But having said that, he’s ready to take on the challenge of getting better. He’s there and we’re working with him to get him to the level he needs to be and he’s excited about it.

“So I’m not too worried about losing trust with him because he knows that. He knows what it’s like, and he knows that others who have been here and are having incredible success in the NFL right now have gone through a similar development path, and he’s going through it, too.”

LSU will face Alabama on Nov. 9 before games against Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma to close out the year.

“I mean, we lost the margin, right? We have no right to make a mistake. We have to go back and look at some of the things I just talked about, right? We’ve got to create some balance on offense,” Kelly said in College Station on Saturday. “We’ve got to be able to handle the running back. The absurdity of the goal game is over. It’s just ridiculous. We will remove this soon. But these two things are special.”

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Follow Zach Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and the LSU Tigers on SI: @LSUTigersSI for all materials pertaining to the LSU program.