When perusing LSU’s schedule in the preseason, it wasn’t the away games in The Swamp or on the Plains that caught Tiger fans’ eyes — instead they jumped at the chance to end a 17-year hiatus.
Rekindling a once-fierce rivalry, fans of No. 6 LSU (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) are sure to travel in droves to welcome Texas A&M (5-1, 2-1 SEC) into the SEC when the teams meet at Kyle Field for the first time since 1995.
LSU fans like mass communication senior Bo Buser said the preseason hype stemmed from Tiger fans wanting to assert their dominance within the conference to the “new guys.”
“A&M just now joined the SEC and I think they talked a big game about being able to hang in the SEC, and thus far, they’ve done a pretty good job,” Buser said. “LSU got hyped about [the game] because they wanted to stick it to them and show them they didn’t belong.”
The early morning atmosphere at Kyle Field is sure to be unlike what Tiger fans saw in last Saturday’s methodical 23-21 victory against South Carolina, where the raucuous, gold-clad crowd of 92,734 came alive to preserve the Tigers’ 22-game home winning streak.
The earliest start for LSU since a 10 a.m. tilt with Appalachian State in 2008 prior to Hurricane Gustav, the 11 a.m. kickoff threw a wrench in some Tiger fans’ giddy-up, quelling the feverish hype that broke out in the offseason.
The morning kickoff, coupled with LSU’s 14-6 road loss to Florida, has resulted in some Tiger fans opting not to travel again, according to humanities and social sciences senior Brandon Harden.
“People wasted their money going all the way [to Gainesville, Fla.] to see what happened,” Harden said. “People don’t want to waste their money and have that happen again.”
Harden, the roommate of sophomore running back Kenny Hilliard, said he’ll be in attendance to not only watch his friend “do his thing” but also to scope out what so many elder Tiger fans described to him.
“[Texas A&M] has a high-powered offense and it used to be a big rivalry back in the ’90s,” Harden said. “People wanted to go back there.”
Harden added that Heisman candidate and Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel and SEC sack leader junior Damontre Moore may frighten some Tiger fans, especially after the debacle in Gainesville.
Political science senior Devin Fields concurred with Harden, saying the hype has dwindled a bit since the beginning of the season.
“If [LSU] was undefeated at this point, the hype would have been still big,” Fields said. “If [LSU] wins this game, the season can still turn around.”
Fields called the early kickoff ridiculous, and while he said he was never going to attend the game, he added the start time was the final deterrence in his decision.
As is their reputation, Tiger fans will hit the trail no matter the time or the opponent, according to early childhood education sophomore Olivia Robe, who herself won’t attend the game, but said she senses excitement from her friends who are making the trek.
“Since [LSU is] playing a little bit more ‘iffy,’ [fans] are a little bit more nervous,” Robe said. “I think everyone’s still pretty excited about it, for sure.”
