Appalachian State University football's 2008 season opener at LSU, set for Saturday, Aug. 30, will be televised on ESPN. To accommodate the live national broadcast, kickoff has been moved to 5 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. CDT).

A national audience will see one of the most intriguing matchups of the opening weekend of the '08 season, as Appalachian and LSU have combined to win five of the last 10 Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly Division I-A) and FCS (Football Championship Subdivision - formerly Division I-AA) national titles. Last season, ASU became the first FCS team to ever defeat a nationally ranked FBS squad when it toppled No. 5 Michigan in the season opener and went on to win its third-straight national championship. LSU won its second national crown in five years when it downed Ohio State in the 2007 Bowl Championship Series title game in New Orleans.

The contest marks the second time in four years that the Mountaineers will venture into "Death Valley," LSU's 92,400-seat Tiger Stadium. In 2005, The Apps trailed the Tigers just 14-0 after three quarters before falling, 24-0. The Mountaineers had opportunities to go into the fourth period behind by less than one score, but had third-quarter possessions end with a dropped touchdown pass and a field-goal attempt that caromed off an upright.

Appalachian has won 13-straight nationally televised games, including last year's opener on the Big Ten Network, and is 12-0 all-time on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The game at LSU is the first of two ASU regular-season contests slated to be televised on the ESPN family of networks in '08. Appalachian's home tilt versus Wofford will be broadcast live on ESPN2 on Oct. 31.