Two years removed from mocking USC for its annual waltz past Pac-10 “juggernauts” like Washington, LSU head coach Les Miles’ recent glowing comments seem a tad out of place.

Earlier this week, Miles called Saturday’s season-opening matchup with Washington “… a great challenge to our football team.”

And just last month at a Rotary Club of Baton Rouge gathering, when asked which game, if any, he had circled on his schedule, Miles chose the Huskies — not reigning national champion Florida or No. 5 Alabama.

“I am pointing at this Washington team,” he said, according to WBRZ News 2 in Louisiana. “This is a very good football team.”

Entering the UW’s nationally televised season opener this weekend, UW head coach Steve Sarkisian would probably settle for just ‘good’ in his head coaching debut against the 17-point favorites from the SEC.

Though Sarkisian says he’s not about to tap out at the mere notion of starting the year off against the No. 11 Tigers, not even after the debacle that was last season.

“I think we’re embracing the challenge more than, ‘Woe is me,’” he said.

Sarkisian, a former USC assistant, said he’s aware of the banter that went on between USC and LSU fans following the 2003 national championship, which the schools split.

Fans have wanted to see an LSU-USC matchup ever since, but it hasn’t happened yet. Realizing that LSU would be his first opponent as Washington’s head coach, Sarkisian had reason to smile.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well I’m getting my chance now to play them,’” he said.

The Tigers, like the Huskies, are coming off a season they’d like to put behind them, though 8-5 sure looks a lot better than 0-12.

One player that should figure pretty prominently into UW’s game-plan is LSU sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson.

As a true freshman, the fleet-footed Jefferson started the final two games for the Tigers last season and threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He completed 25 of 46 passes and also rushed 29 times for 75 yards.

“He’s a great athlete. He can run, throw; he’s going to be tough to stop,” said UW linebacker Mason Foster. “But I look forward to that challenge, playing against the best. He’s gotten a lot better since last year.”

Lining up opposite Washington’s offense will more than likely be the kind of personnel fans have grown accustomed to watching at LSU — big, fast, physical and angry, Sarkisian said.

Of particular note are cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Jai Eugene and safety Chad Jones, players who Sarkisian tried to lure to USC back when he was an assistant at that school.

“These guys have the ability to make plays in the secondary that can change momentum in a ballgame in a single snap,” he said.

Sarkisian said he’s well aware of the challenge that lies before him in bringing Washington back to old form, starting with LSU. And that means gauging his team’s progress in more areas than just wins and losses.

“That when the football game is over, our opponent respects us. Regardless of the score, they walk off the field and they respect the Huskies,” he said.

And it looks as if he’s already gained some respect from an unlikely source.

To prepare his team for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff and the 2,550-mile journey to Seattle, the longest in school history, Les Miles said he’s consulted with sleep experts and carefully laid out a plan to get his players the most rest possible.

Turns out that just two years later, one of the biggest critics of the Pac-10 believes Washington is one team his players can’t afford to sleep on. Even after last season.

“Washington did not have success last year, but that was last year,” Miles said.

Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.