The Washington football team did not win a game last season, but the Huskies’ game attendance did not reflect their on-field woes.Husky Stadium, the largest stadium in the Pacific Northwest,averaged 63,640 fans in seven Washington home games in 2008, filling nearly 90 percent of its seats.”Our fan support was pretty good [in 2008],” said David Gravenkemper, assistant athletic director for ticket sales and customer service at Washington. “But it’s not like the [Southeastern Conference] where people go to the games just to go to the games … We had big crowds against Oklahoma and BYU — a couple of early games — and Notre Dame. They were basically sold out or very near capacity.”The Washington campus fanbase is excited about the team’s chance to make a statement in a nationally televised opening night game. The Huskies have not faced a team from the SEC in the 21st century.”We don’t play SEC teams very often, and it’s obviously a prominent conference in the country,” Gravenkemper said. “I can’t recollect the last time we’ve played an SEC team. And LSU is No. 11 in the country, so it will be great to have a ranked team coming in, which we don’t have very often. That ratchets up the intensity a bit.”Bringing further mystique to the game for the Huskies against LSU is the nighttime kickoff. Game time is set for 9:30 p.m. CDT.”There is a new energy and a positive buzz around the team,” Gravenkemper said. “Everyone is full-steam ahead. We’ll be pretty much sold out on Saturday. [The late kickoff] is rare for us; we typically kick off during the day or at least earlier in the night. It’s going to be crazy.”Gravenkemper said Washington is “pretty close” to selling all its student tickets.”We have about 6,000 tickets reserved for students, and we’re definitely less than 1,000 away from selling that out,” he said.Washington coach Steve Sarkisian said the Huskies are eager to utilize their home-field advantage Saturday.”We’re excited about the opportunity for a prime-time game,” Sarkisian said. “It’s great for us to play a top team in Husky Stadium. It’s more than a football game; it’s a great event.”LSU senior running back Charles Scott said the Tigers must put aside road distractions if they want to continue their streak of six consecutive season-opening victories.”We like hostile environments,” Scott said. “It’s all motivating us to step up to the challenge. It’s about getting it right with someone constantly screaming in your ear, especially when it’s, ‘You suck, you suck.'”Husky Stadium will also have its share of LSU fans making the 2,500-mile trip. According to the LSU Ticket Office, 350 students have bought tickets for the game, and the University has sold its total allotment of 8,000 tickets from the Washington ticket office.The LSU Athletic Department has encouraged all students traveling to Seattle to wear gold on game day.LSU coach Les Miles said the Tigers have prepared for anticipated crowd noise all week. Miles is undefeated on opening day as LSU coach, with an average margin of victory of nearly 30 points. LSU has lost its season opener only once since 2000, a 26-8 road defeat to Virginia Tech under Nick Saban in 2002.LSU is favored by 17.5 points against Washington, according to Yahoo! Sports, but Sarkisian said the atmosphere will be “electric” when the teams square off on ESPN.”Their fans are all going to be here, and our fans will show up and be loud,” Sarkisian said. “For our program, it’s exciting to get the energy back in Husky stadium the way it needs to be. Regardless of the score, we want them to walk off the field and respect us.”—–Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]