AP Player of the Week: LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier earns honor for leading comeback win over Clemson

The Associated Press national player of the week in football for Week 1 of the season:

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

The AP preseason All-America quarterback led his team’s comeback in a 17-10 victory at Clemson.

Nussmeier completed 28 of 38 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown in the top-10 matchup. He connected on his final 11 passes, including all nine in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers erased a 10-3 halftime deficit. He also rushed for a pair of first downs.

His 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trey’Dez Green put LSU up for good. It was the fourth time the fifth-year player from Lake Charles, Louisiana, led LSU to a victory after either trailing or with the game tied in the fourth quarter.

Runner-up

Devon Dampier, Utah. The transfer from New Mexico completed 21 of 25 passes for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 87 yards and a score on 16 carries in a 43-10 win over UCLA.

The third-year player from Phoenix gave the Utes’ offense, which ranked 115th last season, a desperately needed spark. He came in with strong credentials after leading the Mountain West Conference in total offense, rushing for 1,166 yards and a MWC-best 7.52 yards per carry and throwing for 2,768 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Honorable mention

Boston College transfer Tommy Castellanos was 9-of-14 passing for 152 yards and he rushed for a team-best 78 yards and a TD on 16 carries in Florida State’s 31-17 win over Alabama; TCU’s Josh Hoover was 27 of 36 for 284 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-14 win at North Carolina; Georgia Tech’s Haynes King rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning 45-yarder late in the game, and passed for 143 yards in a 27-20 win at Colorado; Miami DL Reuben Bain Jr., who dominated the line of scrimmage in a come-from-behind 27-24 win over Notre Dame, made six tackles and in the fourth quarter had his first career interception.

Six stats

— TCU’s two defensive touchdowns against North Carolina were double its total of one over the previous two seasons. The Horned Frogs had four in 2022.

— The six interceptions thrown by Florida Atlantic’s Caden Veltkamp (4) and Zach Gibson (2) against Maryland were the most in the FBS since Middle Tennessee threw six against Western Kentucky in 2021, according to SportRadar.

— West Virginia lost four fumbles in a 45-3 win over Robert Morris. The Mountaineers lost a total of five in 13 games last season.

— Sawyer Robertson’s 419 yards passing against Auburn were the most against the Tigers since Mississippi’s Chad Kelly threw for 465 in 2016.

— Navy backup QB Braxton Woodson ran seven times for 180 yards against VMI, all in the second half. The last player to run for so many yards on so few attempts was LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who had 188 yards on six runs against Arkansas in 2019.

— Rutgers’ 31 points in the first half against Ohio in a 34-31 win were its most against an FBS opponent since scoring 38 against UMass in 2019.

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AP voters: Cliff Brunt, Maura Carey, Pat Graham, Stephen Hawkins, John Marshall, Steve Megargee, Eric Olson, Eddie Pells.

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