In the third quarter of LSU football’s loss at Alabama, Tigers’ interim head coach Frank Wilson made a bold move. Wilson benched veteran QB Garrett Nussmeier in favor of sophomore Micahel Van Buren.

Van Buren, a Mississippi State transfer, saw his first real action of the year. Van Buren had taken over in blowouts, but this was the first time LSU gave Van Buren the reins in a meaningful game. Van Buren doesn’t lack experience, though — he started eight games for Mississippi State in 2024.

With Van Buren leading the way, the results weren’t much different. He completed 5/11 passes for 52 yards. Van Buren took two sacks and LSU’s offense didn’t look any better than it did with Nussmeier. Still, it was worth seeing if Van Buren could provide a spark.

Here’s what Wilson had to say about the move:

“As we discussed as a staff, we knew there could be opportunities in the quarterback run game. And then at the back end, as they tried to bring closure to it, they would make it difficult to just sit in the pocket. And so we wanted to move (Van Buren) around and do some things. We thought that he gave us a chance to do those things. So that went into the thought and why we put him in,” Wilson said.

Wilson described Van Buren’s performance as solid, noting Van Buren’s ability to extend plays with his legs.

Wilson said Nussmeier looked good early in the game, but as the night progressed, LSU needed a change-up.

“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.

As for how LSU will handle the QB situation next week, Wilson said he hasn’t put that much thought into it yet. Next up for LSU is a home meeting with Arkansas.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU benched QB Garrett Nussmeier | Interim head coach reveals why