Hurricane Ida forced LSU to relocate to Houston in order for the Tigers continue to prepare for their season opener against UCLA.

During Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, LSU coach Ed Orgeron discussed the decision.

“I think it was Friday morning when we heard the Hurricane was coming,” Orgeron said. “As you know, it came up fast. … The thoughts were if we stayed in Baton Rouge, our players were going to be in harm’s way. … We definitely needed the opportunity to get our players safe and to be able to practice.”

In terms of his team’s safety, Orgeron said all is well despite the damage that Ida caused in the Baton Rouge community.

“Some of the houses are really damaged, some of them need to be displaced to hotels, but for the most part, everybody’s fine,” Orgeron added.

As for the opener with the Bruins, which will be played at the storied Rose Bowl, Orgeron said his team is looking forward to the challenge, and given the history of the stadium that he’s going to do things a bit differently this week

“It’s an honor to play there,” Orgeron said. “I usually don’t take the team to the stadium a day early, but this time I will.”