BATON ROUGE — ROTC cadets from Southern University and Grambling State continued the annual tradition of running the Bayou Classic game ball from Baton Rouge to New Orleans on Friday ahead of the rivalry game. 

The cadets began at the F.G. Clark Activity Center on Southern's campus at 5 a.m. on Friday. They will travel on foot to the Caesar's Superdome in New Orleans to ceremoniously deliver the game ball. 

Their route will take them 83 miles through seven parishes and more than a dozen towns. 

"It always starts cold, but once the sun comes out, it starts warming up," Cadet Terrance Banks said in his third year running the ball. 

The cadets are expected to arrive at Gate A on the ground level of the Superdome between 1 and 1:30 p.m. 

The Bayou Classic will kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday in New Orleans.