LSU football's trip to the West Coast to start the 2021 season will not be a quiet one.
The Rose Bowl will be at full capacity in the coming season, according to an announcement from UCLA on Tuesday, meaning as many as 90,888 onlookers can be in attendance when the Tigers and Bruins meet under the lights in Pasadena on Sept. 4.
“We are excited to welcome back students, alumni and fans to the Rose Bowl and our other outside sporting events,” said Martin Jarmond, UCLA’s Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics, in the statement. “Getting the COVID-19 vaccination is strongly encouraged to provide the safest environment for everyone. We will continue to follow local and state health and safety protocols in order to maintain a safe environment for our fans.”
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That game represents the season-opener for the Tigers, but it will be the second game of the season at the Rose Bowl for UCLA. The Bruins open their season a week earlier against Hawaii.
Many college and professional programs are angling toward a return to full capacity after a 2020 season that saw limited or no attendance for fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. In Baton Rouge, Tiger Stadium was limited to 25,000 fans throughout LSU's season but is expected to feature a full house when games return. LSU baseball began its most recent season with a cap on attendance, but such limits were removed midseason with full capacity returning to Alex Box Stadium.
LSU football coach Ed Orgeron said earlier this month he expects to see a large contingent of Tigers fans make the trip out west for the opener.
“I’m expecting a big crowd," Orgeron said in an interview on SportsTalk with Kristian Garic and Bobby Hebert.
"We’ve got a lot of people. It’s a three-day weekend. I think our guys are going to be fired up ready to go. That's going to be an excellent challenge the first time we go out there, LSU Tigers coming on the west coast."
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That game will be notable for many reasons, but in part because it will be the debut of a revamped coaching staff on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. LSU hired former Carolina Panthers assistant Jake Peetz as its new offensive coordinator, along with former Minnesota Vikings assistant Daronte Jones to lead its defense. It will also be the LSU debut for a handful of other assistant coaches, including new offensive line coach Brad Davis.