LSU Tiger Football: Season Opener vs. North Carolina Sets the Bar for 2010

Anyone close to LSU football knows and understands that Tiger fans often have high and sometimes unrealistic expectations for their team.

A 9-4 record at many schools is a good season and certainly would not put the coach on the proverbial “Hot Seat.”  However, at LSU that is not good enough.  The fans expect more.

LSU does not have the storybook championship history of some of the elite football programs around the nation.  Nonetheless, the fans in Louisiana treat the program as if it does.  Tiger fans expect the team to win each and every time they step onto the field, especially on Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium.

Saturday’s opener against the Tar Heels of North Carolina is not in Tiger Stadium, but the expectations are no less for fans in purple and gold.

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in the Georgia Dome, a venue that the Tigers are familiar with and in which they have had success, will be an opportunity for the 2010 LSU football team to set the bar for success and accomplishment.

The Tigers are coming off of a disappointing 2009 season that ended with a loss to Penn State and need a convincing win on Saturday night to reestablish themselves as an elite football program capable of contending for the BCS Championship.

In the 21st century, the Tigers have won the BCS Championship every four years.  With championships in 2003 and 2007, 2011 will be time for the next championship run and that all starts on Saturday night against UNC. 

LSU must have a successful 2010 season to secure a high preseason ranking in 2011 that will give them the opportunity to control their own destiny.

With a depleted UNC defense that could be missing as many as seven starters, including Marvin Austin who many project as a first round NFL draft pick, the Tigers have an opportunity to beat a ranked opponent convincingly on national television. 

Head coach Les Miles can cool his seat off quite a bit if he keeps his foot on the gas and routs the Tar Heels on Saturday night.