LSU to kickoff football season with night games
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2012 LSU football season will start out the way Tiger fans always want it to be: under the lights.
The Southeastern Conference announced kickoff times for the first three weeks of the 2012 season Monday, with LSU opening at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 against North Texas on ESPNU, 6 p.m. Sept. 8 against Washington on ESPN, and 7 p.m. Sept. 15 against Idaho on TigerVision, LSU’s in-house pay-per-view network.
It’s the first time since 1980 that LSU will open with three straight night home games. That year, the Tigers opened with Florida State, Kansas State and Colorado en route to a 7-4 season.
Earlier this year, CBS announced plans to televise LSU’s games against Alabama and Arkansas. The Alabama game is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 3 in Tiger Stadium — the lone scheduled prime-time game for CBS this season — while the Arkansas game will be at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 23 in Fayetteville.
LSU’s website doesn’t list kickoff times for the Tigers’ remaining home games Sept. 29 against Towson, Oct. 13 against South Carolina, Nov. 10 against Mississippi State or Nov. 17 against Ole Miss. It is likely that the Towson game will remain at night, while the South Carolina game is likely to be attractive to CBS for a 2:30 p.m. start time.
LSU did not play a single home night SEC game last season, with contests against Kentucky, Florida, Auburn and Arkansas all moved to the day because of TV commitments.
The Tigers are 32-2 in home night games during the Les Miles era (since 2005).
SEC Media Days begin
SEC Football Media Days kick off Tuesday afternoon with the first of three interview sessions at the Wynfrey Hotel in suburban Hoover, Ala.
Players and coaches from South Carolina, Vanderbilt and SEC newcomers Missouri and Texas A&M will be on hand Tuesday. It will mark the first SEC event for Missouri and Texas A&M since the schools officially joined the conference on July 1.
Miles, quarterback Zach Mettenberger, safety Eric Reid and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are scheduled to take part in Wednesday’s session along with players and coaches from Florida, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Kentucky and Auburn. Media Days wraps up Thursday with Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia and the release of the preseason All-SEC team and media predictions.