Once again, the storm-battered Southeast Louisiana area will look to football for salvation tonight. Not only does the game count tonight, fans will get to see it from LSU's new Death Valley digs. The LSU Tigers open the 2012 college football campaign from a renewed Tiger Stadium at 6 p.m. against the Mean Green of North Texas.

Despite the departure of the Honey Badger, the Tigers enter the season ranked no. 1. With a perennially strong defense once again poised to suffocate the opposition, this year’s key change could be that the offense will come back stronger than a year ago. Leading what’s expected to be a more high flying Tiger team is quarterback Zach Mettenberger,  6 ft. 5, 220 lb. Junior quarterback who has the kind of arm that will probably get a nickname by the time the season is over. Trouble is, Mettenberger has never started a college game. So while you might think that the Sean Payton-inspired Mean Green doesn’t offer as tight a contest as last year’s opener against the Oregon Ducks, imagine what it'll feel like for Mettenberger to be standing on the field in SEC combat for the first time ever. Even if the rest of the Tigers don't, he probably needs this game.

The offense is equally helped by a loaded backfield that seems poised to confuse defenses, and perhaps even Les Miles, just because there are so many options. Though they start the season a little sluggish with junior Michael Ford having just been cleared to play tonight and Spencer Ware struggling with an injury, the four headed beast that includes Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard will all likely be vital contributors this year. Les miles has consistently said throughout the preseason that having depth is a luxury because when something isn’t working he can try something else. Mad Hatter observers everywhere will hope the playbook has some extra special tricks and spells that this backfield can conjure this year.

Though kick returns lost the Honey Badgers roar, and Miles again passed on female place kicker Mo Isom, special teams will continue to have a leg up thanks to Australian punter Brad Wing. The senior who heroically ran for a touchdown - and into our hearts - last year is a team leader now, and we’ll be following him on Twitter and in postgame interviews for memorable reflections. Plus, it never gets old to hear American football being described in a Down Under dialect.

The Tiger Nation knows that going to the game isn’t just about what’s on the field. This year, fans have some revamped Death Valley digs to usher in their Tiger bait.

LSU added a fresh coat of paint to the exterior along with 400 new windows on the north end of the stadium. Purple and gold lights have been installed into the upper archways of the stadium’s north end, and today’s fans can enjoy a new portal gating system on the west side. From now on, portals will be arranged numerically, and the new addition will include the Scotty Moran National Championship Plaza as well as plaques commemorating the LSU All-Americans and members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

The renovations wouldn’t be complete with the 10ft. signage facing Nicholson Drive that reads “Tiger Stadium,” in illuminated letters.