| It's game day and home opener day for LSU. The Tigers are set to host the Grambling Tigers at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium in their first football meeting ever. The game will only be shown streaming online via SECNetwork+. The Grambling game follows LSU's first-ever football game last year with Southern, the state's two major HBCU powers. The games are a continuation of a policy set forth by then LSU athletic director Skip Bertman in 2002 that LSU would put more of an emphasis on playing in-state non-conference opponents. When LSU hosts Nicholls State in September 2024, it will have played Louisiana's 10 other Division I football programs at least once since 2009. The question now becomes: should LSU continue this, especially against the FCS teams: Southern, Grambling, SLU, Nicholls, McNeese and Northwestern State? It's all part of the bigger discussion going on with scheduling across the SEC and college football because of the current massive realignment shifts and the expansion in 2024 of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams. What say you? Discuss over the tailgate (keep an eye on those cooking fires) and get back to me. Our LSU beat team — yours truly, Wilson Alexander, Sheldon Mickles and Reed Darcey — chimes in with our scores for the game. Not exactly a big mystery who we picked to win, but you'll want to see the scores, I'm sure. Mr. Darcey is back with his four keys to LSU's victory. Wilson's game day feature is on the comeback of defensive tackle Maason Smith, who believe it or not will aim to play his first full game since the Texas Bowl in January 2022. You'll recall he injured his ACL in the first quarter of last year's Florida State game, then was suspended for last week's FSU game because he took part in an autograph signing session just before the NIL rules kicked in two years ago. Who says the NCAA doesn't have a heart, huh? Meanwhile, there are no SEC vs. SEC games in Week 2, but our Sheldon Mickles still has five interesting story lines to tell us about. Arguably the top two games in the country this week are in SEC country: Texas at Alabama and Ole Miss at Tulane. There is big women's basketball news as well. The LSU Board of Supervisors approved the new record-breaking contract for coach Kim Mulkey, though with one rather interesting and vocal dissenting vote. Meanwhile, it's a huge recruiting weekend for Mulkey's program, as it welcomes two of ESPN's top-five prospects for the Class of 2024 on their official visits. Well, folks, that's a wrap. Be sure to keep up with all of our coverage of Saturday's game during the game on our websites, on Twitter/X/whatever it's called now and of course in print Sunday morning. We'll have all the angles covered for you. Thanks as always for reading and subscribing. If we had the means, we'd give you a new, Mulkey-sized contract. We'll never have the means, we're sportswriters. But it's a nice thought, isn't it? Scott Rabalais | 
