In-state games

LSU opens its season with Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

It wasn't that long ago that it would have been unheard of for LSU to play an in-state school other than Tulane in football. Kudos to the LSU athletic department for playing in-state teams.

Let's face it, in only the rarest of years will LSU lose one of these games. So competition really isn't a factor.

LSU also gets some benefits from these games. Ticket sales go pretty good. ULL had no trouble selling its tickets for Saturday's game. The same can be said pretty much every time an in-state team travels to Tiger Stadium. Also, the guarantee money is staying in the state when LSU plays an in-state team. And, finally, fans of other teams get to experience Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night.

While LSU deserves kudos for playing in-state schools, there is a question of why the school plays out-of-state Division I-AA teams.

If you're going to play a I-AA team, and apparently LSU will again in future years, shouldn't the same in-state philosophy apply?

Let's face, McNeese, Northwestern State, Grambling, Southern, Southeastern and Nicholls aren't going to beat LSU. But shouldn't they have the same opportunity as the in-state I-A teams?

If not, then shouldn't LSU quit playing I-AA teams altogether?