Early wake-up call

Bacon and eggs with the Aggies will be tough on fans planning to pack Kyle Field for Saturday’s historic 11 a.m. showdown between No. 6-ranked LSU and No. 20 Texas A&M.

The nontraditional kickoff time won’t be a picnic for the visiting team, either.

LSU is staying about an hour away from College Station at a hotel on Lake Conroe near Montgomery, Texas. The team will convene for breakfast at 7 a.m. and should be headed to the stadium by 8, sports information director Michael Bonnette said.

To help his players prepare, LSU coach Les Miles enlisted the help of Dave Thomas, a Baton Rouge sleep medicine specialist who the school also consulted before its season opener at Washington in 2009.

“We have to change the body clock a little bit,” Miles said, “get used to being up earlier.”

Nutrition is also a big part of getting ready for the big game, LSU’s first against A&M since it became a member of the Southeastern Conference this year.

“No starchy foods or heavy sugar,” Miles said. “More multi-grain and healthy eating.”

In other words, no donuts at that 7 a.m. team breakfast.

One advantage the Tigers will have over fans heading to the game: no anxiety about making it there on time.

Everyone should have a police escort.

Les Miles: phrasemaker

Much has been written and said about the way Miles says things over the years, but he may have outdone himself with his statement last Saturday night after LSU’s dramatic 23-21 victory over then No. 3 South Carolina.

“Let me tell you: That was Death Valley,” Miles said. “That was the place where opponents’ dreams come to die. It was spectacular.”

The win was LSU’s 22nd straight in Tiger Stadium, extending the school record for consecutive home wins and the nation’s longest active home winning streak. It is those streaks that the Tigers will take into their next home game, Nov. 3 against No. 1 Alabama, a 7 p.m. showdown on CBS.

Wednesday, Miles was asked how that phrase came to mind, one which he used in his postgame interview on ESPN and with reporters after that.

“I think someone else said it,” Miles said. “I heard it and it stuck in there somewhere and it came out because the environment and what was in Tiger Stadium that night was spectacular. It started early and finished late.”

The atmosphere for the game was arguably the best in Tiger Stadium since 2009, when LSU faced then-No. 1 Florida in prime time on CBS. It was LSU’s first night SEC game since Sept. 18, 2010, against Mississippi State.

Miles said he knew what a game it was when he tried to leave and found the streets around Tiger Stadium still packed with traffic. He said it took him an hour to get home, a trip that usually takes about 15 minutes.

“I realized the emotion in that stadium was special,” Miles said. “It was a tremendous environment for the Tigers.”

If LSU beats Texas A&M Saturday, likely setting up a top-five matchup against the Crimson Tide, Miles might find himself in that sort of environment again.

Foster to take official visits

Auburn (Ala.) blue-chipper Reuben Foster remains committed to the Auburn Tigers, but that doesn’t mean the nation’s top linebacker prospect isn’t looking around.

Foster (6-foot-2, 242 pounds) made an unofficial visit to LSU for the South Carolina game with a former high school teammate. Now, according to 24/7 Sports, Foster says he will return to LSU for an official visit, as well as planning to take officials to Miami and Washington.

Foster has not set any dates for his official visits, according to the website.

Rettig in U.S. Army game

Hayden Rettig, an LSU quarterback commitment for the Class of 2013, was presented Monday with his jersey for the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Game.

Rettig (6-3, 205), who plays at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, says he is getting recruiting pressure from UCLA, but remains firmly committed to the Tigers.

“I’m 100 percent,” Rettig recently told Rivals.com. “I go for my official visit against Alabama and that’s going to be a great game. I saw them play South Carolina last weekend. It was a good game.

“I can’t wait to get down there. Hopefully when I go it will be a great experience and I can contribute.”

Rettig’s Cathedral team is coming off a 42-3 loss to Serra High School, its first of the season, in which he was 15 of 41 for 138 yards with three interceptions.

For the season, Rettig is 129 of 239 in seven games for 1,727 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.