The LSU Fighting Tigers have officially closed their 2024 football regular season.

On Saturday night, LSU took down the Oklahoma Sooners 37-17 in OU’s first-ever visit to Tiger Stadium.

Garrett Nussmeier had one of his best games of the season in the final contest throwing for 277 yards and three touchdowns.

Nussmeier left the game in the first quarter after taking a blindside hit to the shoulder but came back after X-rays came back clean.

“That’s an easy tap-out for most people. Right? That’s an easy one to say: ‘I’m not coming back,’” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said.

However, with no regard for the lack of circumstances for the game, Nussmeier didn’t take the easy way out.

“That’s the kind of player he is; that’s the kind of competitor he is,” Kelly said.

Aaron Anderson had the major highlight of the night returning a kickoff 100 yards midway through the second quarter.

Anderson’s return and a late Nussmeier 40-yard touchdown strike to Chris Hilton Jr. put the Tigers up 27-17 heading to halftime.

In the second half, the LSU defense pitched a shutout allowing the Tigers to cruise to their second straight victory.

Next, LSU will await its bowl bid to see where they will be playing their postseason matchup. After the game, Brian Kelly confirmed that Nussmeier would play in the game.

However, That wasn’t the only notable thing that Kelly said in his postgame press conference which seemingly had a lot of meat on it.

Kelly fully expects that LSU will return to elite level next season after the Tigers finish the regular season at 8-4.

“We’re taking receipts, and we’ll see you at the national championship,” Kelly said. “This team’s building and we’re excited about it. And we’re really proud of them.”

Certainly, Brian Kelly believes there is reason for hope after a disappointing season. Play on the field won’t start until next August but the work to build a national title contender will certainly be a process stretching long before that.