National Champion LSU Will Open with National Champion Appalachian State

Congratulations, NCAA! You finally have a football program that isn't afraid to toughen up their schedule...a little bit.

LSU's decision to play Division 1-AA Appalachian State in its season opener is a testament to their ability to ignore the notion that playing good programs is not a fatal error. Because that is how many major-programs feel about playing less talented teams with a record of success. Due to the fact that a school like LSU is supposed to beat Appalachian State handedly, athletic directors and coaches know that playing those teams is often no-win situation. If you win, you were supposed to win. If you lose, all hell will break loose.

And when Michigan lost to Appalachian State last year that is certainly what happened. Their stunning loss to Appalachian State was talked about for the entirety of the college football season in 2007, and for years, college football fans will be talking about that game as one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

Now, in all fairness to Michigan, Appalachian State was no creampuff opponent. They may be a Division 1-AA team, but they were also the Division 1-AA champions, and they won it via a playoff system, which is far more impressive than anything going on in the Bowl Championship Series is. Their quarterback, Armanti Edwards, was sensational in throughout the playoffs, compiling 504-rushing yards in just 4 playoff games. He was only a sophomore last year, so he'll be in Baton Rouge to take on the Division 1's other national champion, the LSU Tigers.

The Tigers didn't have a bad run themselves in 2007, and they finished it off with an impressive victory of a less talented Ohio State Buckeyes team. The band of players that won this last championship was around when LSU last played Appalachian State in 2005, when LSU beat them 24-0.

However, this LSU team is not coming back fully loaded. They are losing several players at key positions, including defensive stand out Glenn Dorsey.

So don't expect another 24-0 rout win LSU takes the field against Appalachian State at the beginning of the 2008 season. But don't get ahead of yourselves, LSU is supposed to win this game. It would defy all the logic of recruiting and the college football system, as we know it. But then again, a preseason #5 ranked Michigan squad wasn't supposed to lose Appalachian State last time either.