Food & Football: Miami Hurricanes’ Guide for the LSU Tigers

Canes fans! It’s here. Hurricane football is finally here (::flips table::)! After a 245-day intermission, the #8 Miami Hurricanes kick off the 2018 season with a Top 25 match up in the Advocare Classic. Tonight at 7:30 ET, the Canes will face the #25 LSU Tigers at ‘Jerry World’, AT&T Stadium, on ABC. Let the hype video role…

Tailgate Talk: The buzz is back in Miami and the expectations for this season are high. Dare I say College Football Playoff high? The road to the CFP starts tonight. As we approach kickoff, there are some obvious discussions taking place at every tailgate and watch party across Canes nation. First, how many games will the Canes win this year? Vegas has the Canes at 10 even, but my projection is north of that for the regular season. For today’s Top 25 showdown there are two other main talking points that are getting a lot of attention in my circle of Canes. If starting QB Malik Rosier makes some costly mistakes early against LSU’s tough nose defense, should he be looking over his shoulder with Cade Weldon as the lone backup QB? Last, how will the Canes Defensive Line depth hold up as LSU looks to establish the run early and often to protect their unproven QB Joe Borrow.

Opponent History: Classes at the now Louisiana State University began in 1860 when it was known as the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy, an all-male military school. The most prominent member of the school’s first administrative structure was General George Mason Graham. Gen Graham was the grandson of former Secretary of War and Head of the United States General Land Office, George Mason, who framed the Virginia Declaration of Rights which was the foundation of the United States Constitution. General Graham found himself in Louisiana after visiting his father’s plantation which he later owned. Football at LSU began 30 years after the school was established in 1890, but their first live tiger mascot did not hit the scene until 1934 when Mike I was purchased from the Little Rock Zoo for $750. LSU colors of purple and gold were adopted in 1893. Purple represents the “passion, spirit and culture of the LSU community” and gold stands for “the excellence produced by that passion and demonstrated at every level of academics and athletics.”

Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images

Food: For the Game Meal, you have a few different options for motivation with the game being played in BBQ land (aka Texas), and LSU calling the rich food culture of Louisiana home. You can’t think of Louisiana without thinking of New Orleans so that was the inspiration for this tailgate meal. If you are a seafood lover you can’t go wrong with N.O. BBQ shrimp. Serving this alone or as a Poe Boy using tiger shrimp is the perfect game meal.

Donovan Hutchins

Drink: The drink for this weeks game is one you can roll out of bed drinking right until kickoff. It’s going to be a Sunday Funday so start with a glass or three of purple strawberry sangria at your tailgate, brunch or watch party. This game drink combines the state fruit of Louisiana, the strawberry, with Blue Curaçao to get the purple hue of the LSU Tigers. It’s going to be a long night so pace yourself with this game day drink.

Donovan Hutchins

Be safe Canes Family and drink responsibly! For full recipes for the game see the “2018 Hurricanes’ Cooking Guide”