Two Truths and a Lie: LSU vs Alabama

By Chris Marler

Saturday night brought another tough loss for LSU, but now it’s time to look in the mirror and confront what needs fixing. Here are this week’s Two Truths and a Lie.

Truth No. 1 – This season is a colossal failure. 

It sucks. There’s not really another way to look at it, though. The preseason hype is one thing, LSU always gets plenty of that in August. But the roster was the real story. Back when they were ranked No. 9, I kept said:

“I’m not sure there are eight better teams than LSU. But I do know there aren’t eight more talented rosters in the country.”

The sad part is that I still believe that. This roster was loaded with talent. There are 62 former blue chip recruits, there are multiple top ten recruiting classes and there was the No. 2 ranked transfer portal class in America. Whether it’s a major mismanagement of talent or a trickle-down effect from leadership failures at the top under former head coach Brian Kelly, it doesn’t make any of this easier to accept.

Then there’s the money spent on the roster. It was as surprising as it was revealing when Brian Kelly announced that this year’s roster cost $18 million. When he said it, every fan, media member and anything in between perked up. It didn’t seem like there was a ton of upside to admitting that. The comparisons that would be made were imminent and immediate. After all, Ohio State had just won a national title with a roster that cost $20 million the year before. 

Only a few programs were rumored to have that level of spending. Those teams were Oregon, Ohio State and Texas. Texas made the semifinals of the CFP. Oregon finished the regular season 13-0 and ranked No. 1. And again, Ohio State won the national title. 

NEW: Brian Kelly comments on LSU’s roster cost:

“We’re going to be just about $18 million.”https://t.co/N8THOX31CO pic.twitter.com/ezTEeupSjr

— On3 (@On3sports) August 22, 2025

With a near $20 million roster those were the expectations before the season, and even in a world of unrealistic SEC fan expectations, they were warranted and  justified. 

Saying only a championship would’ve been acceptable isn’t fair. Missing the Playoff at 9-3 or 10-2, given the tough schedule, would have been understandable. But being 5-4 after nine games is unacceptable, and incredibly frustrating.

Truth No. 2 – Implementing the plan for 2026 needs to begin now.

Nick Saban used to say to his teams, “never waste a loss.” 

Never let a loss go to waste or the frustration from one loss lead to another. You can’t allow yourself to get beat twice. 

That phrase is usually about one loss bleeding into the next week. In this case, it’s more about this entire season bleeding into next year. New athletic director Verge Ausberry said what bothered him most about the loss to Texas A&M wasn’t the defeat itself or the fans leaving, it was the apathy. Apathy is a horrible feeling to have for a program like LSU.

It’s foolish to start building hype for LSU in 2026 right now. But, it would be even more foolish to not begin work now to turn this thing around in 2026. 

The 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes in this state are two of the deepest classes we’ve seen in over a decade. LSU needs to begin there and focus on putting a fence around this state once again. From there, the work on building a roster and finding a coach becomes even more imperative

Teams with the highest percentage of blue-chip commits in the 2026 cycle⭐️https://t.co/BByFB7XWoA pic.twitter.com/9PkyKPZBUp

— Rivals (@Rivals) November 6, 2025

The retention of players needs to begin much sooner, though. Frank Wilson will most likely not be the next head coach, but having a guy like Frank Wilson on staff would have a ton of positive benefits. Not only has he been instrumental in in-state recruiting, but he’s also had a bird’s-eye view of the team all year, giving him insight into which players must be prioritized for retention.

One of the best things about the transfer portal is how quickly it can help turn a program around. The downside is that the transfer portal can giveth, and the transfer portal can taketh away. The roster is still loaded, so you’d have to expect programs from around the country to try and poach. 

They’ve likely already started trying.

Whoever #LSU hires, their first priority is making sure these guys are on the 2026 roster

Superstars pic.twitter.com/cTzf1T1pgr

— Tingle & Co (@Tingle__Co) October 27, 2025

The Lie – The QB problem is simple to fix. 

Garrett Nussmeier’s regression has been puzzling this year. Sure, the offensive line has been bad, but there are weapons everywhere. Not to mention, this is a fifth year senior quarterback. 

There is a real, valid question on what to do at quarterback moving forward.

I thought Michael Van Buren would play more against Alabama. I assumed it would have been in packages to get him going in the run game. Benching Nussmeier for Michael Van Buren was the right move for a team desperately looking for a spark. Benching Nussmeier moving forward is a much different move. 

Garrett Nussmeier returned for his fifth year at LSU instead of turning pro. Regardless of what he’s done on the field this season, there are still plenty of NFL scouts that felt he would have  been one of the top quarterbacks drafted in last year’s NFL Draft. 

Aaaaand this is why Booger McFarland said this about Garrett Nussmeier. Wtf is this. https://t.co/3MFW9pRU66 pic.twitter.com/dSiAC3gIy6

— Chase Snyder (@ChasingSnyder) November 9, 2025

LSU shouldn’t necessarily feel tethered to Nussmeier starting just because he’s a fifth year senior. But to think that that is not a delicate situation would be ignorant, at best. Benching him may hurt his draft stock, but LSU’s priority has to be winning games. That comes before playing a fifth-year senior out of obligation, guilt or anything else.

At the end of the day, I don’t know the right answer and I’m glad I’m not the one who has to make that decision.