The rematch of the “Battle on the Bayou” may be coming to Tiger Stadium.
LSU announced Wednesday it will be playing its 2004 BCS Championship opponent Oklahoma in a home-and-home series sometime in the future.
The announcement comes on the heels of the University of Houston opting out of its Sept. 11, 2004 game against the Tigers. LSU’s 2005 game with Arkansas State has been moved up to fill the hole in the schedule.
In January, Houston asked to be dropped from the Sept. 11 game in Tiger Stadium. However, in a Feb. 27 Reveille story, LSU Associate Athletics Director Dan Radakovich, who is in charge of football scheduling, said the Cougars would stay on the Tigers’ schedule in 2004.
“We’re definitely playing Houston next season,” Radakovich told The Reveille. “These [rumors] happen a lot.”
In the two weeks since that statement, what began as a rumor has now apparently become a fact.
“Football opponents used to be etched in stone years ahead of time, but those days are over,” said Radakovich in Wednesday’s LSU press release. “We understood Houston’s request to make a change in its schedule, and we were willing to take a look at the change if it did not dramatically affect our schedule this season.”
The Houston move is not the first change LSU has made to its 2004 non-conference schedule. Before last season began, Troy State was scratched off the 2003 schedule and moved to 2004. Virginia Tech’s 2004 game in Tiger Stadium was moved back to 2007 after the Hokies failed in negotiations with ESPN for a Black Coaches Association Classic game. Oregon State replaced Virginia Tech for the LSU opener on Sept. 4.
The Tigers are now searching for one more opponent for their 2005 schedule.
LSU coach Nick Saban said he was not pleased with all of the late scheduling changes.
“I am continually disappointed that opponents have attempted to change our out-of-conference schedule at such late dates,” Saban said.
Arkansas State finished last season in third place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 5-7 record overall, including losses against Ole Miss, 55-0, and Texas A&M, 26-11.
LSU will face Arkansas State in its final game before beginning its Southeastern Conference Schedule.
“Arkansas State provides us with a better opportunity to prepare our team for this year’s early SEC schedule,” Saban said. “With a Pac-10 team [Oregon State] coming in for the season-opener, it is good to have a team with SEC-type tendencies in week two to continue our team’s development for the rest of the season.”
LSU also said talks for a series between the Tigers and their 2004 Sugar Bowl opponent, Oklahoma, were ongoing.
The dates for the games in Baton Rouge and Norman will be announced later this spring.