McNeese St.-LSU Preview

(AP) - After a brief health scare sent Les Miles to a hospital, the LSU coach returned to practice Monday afternoon and then announced that sophomore Brandon Harris would start at quarterback for the 14th-ranked Tigers in Saturday night's season opener against McNeese State.

Harris has been competing with last year's starter, junior Anthony Jennings, throughout the August camp. Miles did not rule out playing two quarterbacks in the game.

''It is a foregone conclusion that Brandon Harris will start against McNeese,'' Miles said. ''He absolutely will take the first snap. I feel like both quarterbacks can play and both can improve.''

The 61-year-old Miles normally meets with media during lunchtime on the first day of a game week, but was absent Monday because he was feeling ill, and trainers advised him to seek treatment at a hospital.

''I went for some examination and testing. Everything's fine. I am ready to roll,'' Miles said. ''The only thing I did miss was my weekly press conference.''

Miles added that he is encouraged about his team's chances of challenging for an SEC title and a spot in the College Football Playoffs. The Tigers are trying to rebound from last year's 8-5 season that ended with a loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl.

''This team will develop as the season goes on,'' Miles said. ''This is a group which expects to do special things. You look at each group and there are some talented guys there.''

Jennings started all but one of the Tigers' games last season, completing 48.9 percent of his passes for 1,611 yards and 11 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Then during most of the team's summer workouts, Jennings was suspended because of his arrest for unlawful entry of an on-campus apartment. He was reinstated to the team when the charges were dropped in late July.

Harris, who made one start at Auburn as a freshman last year, had been taking the first snaps with the No. 1 offense throughout preseason practice. He completed just three of 14 passes in a 41-7 loss to the Tigers and played very sparingly over the second half of the season. For the year, he completed 25 of 45 passes for 452 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions.

Harris won't be burdened with carrying the offense alone, though, with Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette joining him in the backfield. Fournette set an LSU freshman record with 1,034 rushing yards a year ago and averaged 26.0 yards on 24 kick returns.

Led by linebacker Kendell Beckwith, cornerback Tre'Davious White and senior safety Jalen Mills, the defense should also be a major strength. The Tigers were ninth in the FBS in total defense a year ago, allowing an average of 316.8 yards, and fifth in scoring defense at 17.5 points per game.

Although LSU owns the nation's longest regular-season non-conference winning streak at 49 games and is 10-0 against FCS foes, McNeese State is unlikely to be a pushover.

The Cowboys are ranked 25th in the STATS FCS poll, returning nine starters on offense and seven on defense. They were on the verge of taking No. 19 Nebraska to overtime in last season's opener until Ameer Abdullah's highlight-reel, 58-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds remaining gave the Cornhuskers a 31-24 win.

McNeese State also led LSU 10-7 in the second quarter in the only previous meeting in 2010 until the ninth-ranked Tigers scored 25 unanswered points for a 32-10 win.

"We're gonna do what we do," coach Matt Viator told McNeese State's official website. "It's what we did last year at Nebraska. It's what we did at North Carolina and Texas A&M. We're not inventing the wheel or going in there and trying to trick (LSU) and all that kind of stuff, which we never have done. We want to make sure that McNeese shows up and we do it to the very, very best of our ability. We're going to play football the way we know how."

That means leaning on one of the deepest backfields in the FCS. Quarterback Daniel Sams passed for 624 yards while rushing for a team-high 711 last season, and four running backs who each amassed at least 346 yards also return.

Despite close calls with LSU and Nebraska, McNeese State is 0-9 against teams from the six power conferences.