Provo • BYU is heading back to the Big Easy, but the No. 13-ranked LSU Tigers will definitely be much more difficult to handle in Saturday’s relocated AdvoCare Texas Kickoff than the last team BYU faced in the famed Superdome.
More than 24 hours after news began circulating Sunday that the game scheduled to be played in hurricane-ravaged Houston was going to be moved, officials announced Monday evening that it will be relocated to New Orleans.
Kickoff for the first-ever matchup of BYU and LSU is still scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MDT on Saturday, and the game will still be televised by ESPN.
The Cougars walloped Tulane 54-3 in the Superdome in 2009, a week after upsetting No. 3 Oklahoma 14-13 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Obviously, LSU will have a big home-crowd advantage because New Orleans is only a 90-minute drive from LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge, La. However, the Tigers were already expected to have a large crowd in Houston, which is about four hours away. LSU is 13-5 in the Superdome.
Massive flooding and other complications brought on by Hurricane Harvey made moving the game out of Houston’s NRG Stadium a necessity, officials said.
“We are sorry for the disruption to BYU fans who purchased tickets and made travel plans for Houston,” said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. “We hope many of you will be able to make necessary changes to join us in New Orleans to cheer on the Cougars.”
Tickets purchased through the BYU ticket office will be refunded. Tickets for the event in New Orleans go on sale Tuesday and can be purchased through the schools and the stadium box offices.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake and several players who spoke at Monday’s press briefing wished the best for the people of South Texas.
“Our concern is that everyone is safe and things can get taken care of down there and [we] are not really worried about the football game,” Sitake said. “People come first. We will figure out the rest later. … A lot of our players and our team, and myself, we have a lot of friends and family in that area, so that’s just the main thing is concern for that greater Houston area.”
LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said organizers looked at a half-dozen other possible venues after determining the game could not be played in Houston. Along with the Superdome, those were believed to be in Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Dallas, Texas, and LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
“Ultimately, the decision was made to move forward with the relocation,” said Peter Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and events. “Efforts are underway in New Orleans and we will work with the fans, the Superdome … and both schools throughout the week to ensure the most optimal game experience for all.”
It will be a homecoming for BYU freshman tight end Matt Bushman, who lived in New Orleans until he was 9 years old.
“Yeah, that would be awesome,” Bushman said Monday when he learned New Orleans was being considered. “Last time I went back was in the eighth grade. Growing up, we were always BYU fans, but being from New Orleans, we cheered on LSU also. We have some friends down there that heard I am back from my mission, playing for BYU, so we are going to have friends from New Orleans, from Utah, from all over, on both sides of the spectrum, watching me, seeing how the game goes. It is going to be an exciting game.”
Bushman said he can feel for the people in Houston as he’s watched scenes from the fourth-largest city in the country play out on television the past few days.
“Whenever these natural disasters happen and I see the people affected, there is definitely a soft spot in my heart,” he said, noting that his family moved to Arizona after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc in Louisiana.
Sitake said the location change will not affect BYU’s preparation. The Cougars watched film of Saturday’s 20-6 win over Portland State and then practiced Monday morning.
“We don’t know any of the details,” Sitake said. “We will find out later, but our guys are mostly focused on trying to fix the mistakes we made from last week and then obviously just concerned for the people of Houston.”
Sitake said the Cougars came out of the opener relatively healthy — LSU did not have a game last weekend — and that star linebacker Butch Pau’u is expected to play against LSU after missing the Portland State game.
Viewing the game film “probably [produced] a little bit more positive stuff than we thought,” Sitake said. “We thought doom and gloom from after the game. We saw a lot of good things. A few mistakes that would have changed the whole game. Whether penalties or missed assignments or mental breakdowns, I think they can all be fixed. We just focus on getting better and making sure those things don’t show up this Saturday.”
