UO inks deal to play LSU in 2011;Football Oregon;The Ducks and Tigers will open next season at

Published Oct. 8, 2010 10:02 p.m. ET

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Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Oregon will test itself against a storied team from the Southeastern Conference this week, and announced Tuesday that it will do so again just 51 weeks later.

While the seventh-ranked UO football team continued preparations this week to face Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn., the athletic department confirmed Tuesday the Ducks will face Louisiana State to open next season on Sept. 3, 2011.

It's been seven years since the Ducks last faced an SEC team in the regular season, going back to a 2003 victory at Mississippi State. Oregon and Tennessee kickoff Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT on ESPN2.

"Those are the games you want to play in," UO coach Chip Kelly said. "You want to play against the Tennessees and the USCs and the Michigans of the world. Those are the games that get you excited."

Kelly's comments were made just prior to the announcement that theOregon-LSU game had been finalized. But he made it clear during his weekly teleconference with reporters Tuesday morning that he looked forward to future marquee games.

"I love playing big out-of-conference games," Kelly said. "I thinkit prepares you for your conference schedule. If I do have input, I'd like to continue to play games like this. It's good for your fan base, it's good for your players. If we want to find out how good we are, we have to play against the best teams out there."

LSU is a perennial top-25 team that won BCS national championshipsin 2003 and 2007. The Tigers' coaching staff includes offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, who filled the same role at Oregon in 2005-06, prior to Kelly's arrival.

The Tigers fill a void on the schedule created when Kansas State backed out of a scheduled game for that same date. The 2011 schedule figures to undergo further adjustment in the coming months, as the Pac-10 anticipates the arrival of Utah and perhaps also Colorado in timefor that football season.

The Ducks will face LSU in the Cowboys Classic at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Oregon State lost to Texas Christian last week in this year's edition of the game.

Ticket sales will be coordinated by the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL,with the Ducks not yet aware of availability and prices for local fans. LSU will reportedly receive a payout of between $3.25 million and$3.5 million for the game, which will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 orABC.

A public-records request was made to the University of Oregon regarding the Ducks' anticipated payout.

It figures to be a tough matchup for Oregon, and not just because of the quality of opponent. The Ducks lose three starters on the offensive line from the 2010 team, two starting receivers, their top two defensive linemen, two starting linebackers and No. 1 cornerback Talmadge Jackson III.

Oregon has future top-flight nonconference games scheduled againstTennessee in 2013, Georgia in 2015 and 2016, and Texas A&M in 2018 and 2019. Games against Utah in 2011 and Colorado in 2014 and 2015 mayhave to be renegotiated now that they will join the Pac-10.

But before any of that, the Ducks will face the Vols on the road this week. It figures to be a significant test for starting quarterback Darron Thomas in particular, after the sophomore made his first career start in last week's win over New Mexico.

"Everybody knows Tennessee's got one of the biggest stadiums," Thomas said of Neyland Stadium, which has a listed capacity of 102,455. "But if we come in prepared, I think we'll do good things out there. ... We've got a loud crowd here, so we're kind of used to it."

What the Ducks aren't used to are the anticipated game conditions Saturday. Kelly said the forecast calls for temperatures around 87 degrees with 68 percent humidity.

Thus, he had the doors and vents in the Moshofsky Center shut tight for practice Tuesday, and turned up the heat to get the building to85.5 degrees, with 65 percent humidity.

By replicating the conditions and using a deep rotation of players, the Ducks hope to avoid the issues with cramping that Boise State, for example, suffered in its win over Virginia Tech on Monday.

"I think our team will be in shape come Saturday," Kelly said. "But we do need to practice in that environment."

They'll need to do so again in late August of next year, to prepare for the next big showdown with an SEC opponent.