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Opening weekend of the 2010 college football season will find the LSU Tigers battling it out with the UNC Tar Heels in the Kickoff Game in Atlanta. These two top rated teams have played six times in the past, the most recent being in 1986. The LSU Tigers have a 5-1 advantage in these meetings.
LSU’s NCAA Division I teams are always a force to be reckoned with in the Southeastern Conference. They have been particularly successful in the last decade. This is their sixth year with head coach Les Miles, who has amassed an impressive 51-15 record at LSU. Under his tenure they have been National Champions and SEC Conference Champions in 2007 and have won four bowl games. This year’s schedule includes eight conference and 4 non-conference games. LSU claims three National Championships in football, in 1958, 2003, and 2007. They have had ten SEC Championship Football teams. The Tigers also claim a Heisman Trophy Winner- Billy Cannon in 1959.
The LSU Tigers’ home turf is Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tiger Stadium, nicknamed “Death Valley”, has been called one of the most dreaded road playing sites in college football. The stadium holds over 92,000 fans, and the noise level is known to be deafening. LSU plays the majority of its home games at night under the lights. Tiger Stadium opened in 1924 and has been enlarged a number of times over the years. It is currently one of the largest college football stadiums in the country.
LSU has a proud history. The university opened in 1860 and is Louisiana’s flagship university. Its main campus is in Baton Rouge, on 650 beautifully landscaped acres adjacent to the Mississippi River. The current student enrollment is over 21,000 undergraduates. Their sports teams are known as the “Fighting Tigers”, and the mascot is a live Bengal-Siberian tiger whose 15,000 square foot habitat is across from Tiger Stadium.
The CFA Kickoff Game in Atlanta is the leading season opening game in college football. This year’s game will take place on September 4 at the Georgia Dome, and will air nationally on ABC. The Kickoff Game was created by CFA and ESPN in 2008, and always matches two top rated football teams in a neutral setting. In preseason polls, UNC is ranked at #18, and LSU is ranked #21. The game promises to be an exciting matchup.
