FOX 26 Sports in Houston has reported that the LSU Tigers will face the Wisconsin Badgers in the 2014 Texas Kickoff Classic at Reliant Stadium. The game would likely be played on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014.
But LSU associate athletic director Verge Ausberry quickly denied that report and stated that a contract is not in place to play Wisconsin in Houston.
“Nothing has been finalized,” Ausberry told The Times-Picayune. “We’re still talking to other teams.”
In an interview last night on WNXX 104.5, LSU athletic director Joe Alleva also said that the game has not yet been confirmed.
“We are in conversations with Wisconsin, as well as a couple of other teams, actually” Alleva stated. “We would very much like to play our opening game next year in Reliant Stadium. The opponent has yet to be determined, but Wisconsin is a very good possibility.”
“There’s no deal yet, we haven’t worked out any kind of financial deal yet. Our goal is to play our opening game in Reliant Stadium against a quality opponent.”
Based on the FOX 26 report and comments from Alleva, it seems that the LSU-Wisconsin game is very likely to happen if the financial details can be agreed upon.
LSU and Wisconsin have met twice on the football field. The Tigers won 38-28 in Madison in 1971 and 27-7 in Baton Rouge in 1972.
A report surfaced last week that Wisconsin wanted to play LSU at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. There have no further public discussions on that possibility. The upcoming College Football Playoff coupled with discussions on a nine-game SEC schedule may delay non-conference scheduling past the 2014 season.
Update (5/14/13)
In an interview with ESPN.com, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez provided an update on LSU-Wisconsin:
“We haven’t signed a contract yet, but we are still in discussions with them and ESPN. Hopefully we can finalize that in the near future.”
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