BATON ROUGE — LSU will unexpectedly have to plunge into SEC play with virtually no game experience.
A lightning strike in the vicinity of Tiger Stadium halted the Tigers’ season opener against McNeese State after about eight minutes of play last Saturday. The lightning continued persistently for about four hours before the game was canceled.
It’s believed to be the first cancellation of an LSU football game since 1918, when the whole season was wiped out due to World War I.
“I’m sorry we didn’t play, but it boiled down to player safety,” LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said. “At the end of the day, we have to be concerned about our athletes’ welfare.”
Now the Tigers are concerned about their de facto season opener, which comes Saturday at Mississippi State. The action that took place against McNeese does not count because the game was not finished. This will the second time in the last 25 years that LSU has opened on the road against an SEC opponent.
“We would have liked to prepare best for Mississippi State, having our first game under our belt before we played them,” Coach Les Miles said. “That’s why we waited as long as we could (before cancelling the game). … We felt like the health risk there overrode the necessity of playing the game.”
Miles indicated the Tigers will try to make up part of what they missed by doing more-than-usual 11-on-11 work in practice this week.
“We would have loved to get onto the field, the experience of the game,” he said. “Returning a punt, kickoffs, the speed to the ball. There’s so much that you get. The challenge to our football team is to improve without that game.”
The Tigers and the Cowboys only got a total of 10 plays — offense, defense and special teams — in the scoreless game.
So LSU still has little idea of what to expect from Harris, who was making his second career and first home start and from first-year defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
“All part of God’s plan,” Harris tweeted after the game was canceled.
“This was his first (home) start,” Miles said of Harris. “He would have loved to have had it. I would have loved for him to have had it.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Brandon Harris was the center of attention going into the McNeese game and now he’ll stay right there as tries to show whether he has wrestled the position away from Anthony Jennings or if the competition is ongoing. Unless Harris or Jennings shows marked improvement early on, this will likely remain a two-man job.
–RB Leonard Fournette’s statistics and candidacy for awards took a hit with the loss of an opportunity to run against an FCS defense. The yards will be much harder to come by against State.
–S Rickey Jefferson’s ascension to the starting lineup in place of injured Jalen Mills also was put on hold. Mills is expected to miss at least another week, so Jefferson figures to get another start Saturday. He was in on the first two tackles against McNeese, including a sack.