BATON ROUGE — LSU may be heading to Oxford this weekend, but the excitement surrounding the Tigers’ matchup with Ole Miss is already making its way through Baton Rouge.

The Tigers are set to face the Rebels Saturday in a highly anticipated SEC matchup, with thousands of LSU fans expected to travel to Mississippi. For those staying in Baton Rouge, however, the away game is still shaping up to feel a lot like a home weekend.

Local businesses near LSU are already seeing increased interest as fans prepare for game day.

At Bengals and Bandits Apparel, just off LSU’s campus, the owner, Patrick Wilkerson, says sales have picked up in the days leading up to the matchup.

“I mean, it’s definitely building up, and I think this is one of those games that’s going into the record books. The excitement is there. People are throwing parties. We have definitely seen an increase in sales to what we would expect to a normal away game weekend,” he said. 

The anticipation is also noticeable around LSU’s campus. Students headed to class Wednesday said academics remain the priority, but the matchup is still on their minds — even with the game taking place roughly 300 miles away in Oxford.

“I think it’s going to be like any other home game,” one LSU student said. “People will be tailgating around here.”

The matchup also comes with an added storyline, as it marks Lane Kiffin’s first return to Oxford since leaving Ole Miss. That has added to the attention surrounding Saturday’s game, but students said Baton Rouge will still have plenty of its own game-day atmosphere. “Every single restaurant business has LSU flags and LSU Tigers on the walls, so I think Baton Rouge itself is going to be really big for this game,” another student said. “It’s Baton Rouge. Everyone here is still active, rooting for their team. It’s great over here.”

While it’s still early in the week, signs of LSU pride are already visible throughout the city. And with kickoff still days away, Baton Rouge is showing that the Tigers don’t necessarily have to be playing inside Tiger Stadium for game day to bring energy to the capital city.