How do you prepare for an LSU road environment featuring nothing less than a live tiger? If you're Washington and coach Steve Sarkisian, you bring a live tiger to practice, of course.
Before the Huskies head to Baton Rouge to face the Tigers on Saturday -- and to face Mike the Tiger, the famous LSU mascot usually parked near the visitors' tunnel -- Sarkisian arranged for a 300-pound Bengal tiger from a nearby Oregon wildlife preserve to be on hand for Tuesday's practice.
"I was like 'Oh, a tiger? Why do we have a tiger here?''' redshirt freshman linebacker Travis Feeney told the Seattle Times. "It was kind of scary at first ... Coach wants us to get used to it so when we play them and come out of the locker we already know that it's there and there is no distraction."
From Tacoma News-Tribune writer Ryan Divish, here's a shot of "Sheena" taking in her practice surroundings:
And here's two Times videos on the scene:
Will having "Sheena" on hand Tuesday actually pay off on Saturday? It's hard to think it would make that much difference, but the Huskies are 23.5-point underdogs to the nation's No. 3-ranked team. Every little bit has got to help, right?