By ANNA HOLTON

Staff Writer

Full tank of gas, check. Foam fingers, check. Tickets, check.

This can only mean one thing -- road trip!

But for fans traveling to Baton Rouge next Saturday, this is no ordinary road trip.

This one is 62 years overdue.

The football teams from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Tech will clash for the first time since 1941.

Many students are planning to take the hours-long trip for what could perhaps be the creation of an interstate rivalry.

Judd Smith, a sophomore photography major, said the trek to Baton Rouge is the best part of the event.

"We're all piled in the car and don't know where we're going. That is what makes it great. We don't use maps," Smith said.

"I am looking forward to the game though. I want to see the gold and purple versus the red and blue. It makes me angry that people say LSU is better than Tech [because] I think we have a good chance of winning."

Shelly Bitowski, a senior industrial engineering major, said she is also looking forward to the trip south.

"I am really eager about traveling to Baton Rouge," Bitowski said. "I have a friend from high school who goes to LSU, so I will be staying with her.

"I hope this will be an exciting game and I hope the Tech football team won't be intimidated by LSU or their fans."

However, the environment does not promise to be welcoming for the Bulldogs.

Ninety-thousand-seat Tiger Stadium is known to be intimidating and is ranked No. 5 on CBS Sportsline.com's top 10 most intimidating stadiums.

Sportsline.com also ranked Mike the Tiger as the most intimidating mascot in the nation.

Aside from the stadium and mascot, LSU fans are widely known to be fierce spectators.

According to the Web site, in 1988 when LSU scored late to beat Auburn University [Alabama], the crowd's reaction registered on the geology department's seismograph. It is the only stadium to register on the Richter scale.

An Oct. 26, 2002, article in the St. Petersburg [Florida] Times said Auburn hired extra game management workers for a game against LSU to avoid a repeat of the previous year when Tiger fans rocked Auburn's team bus and rushed coach Tommy Tuberville and his wife.

However, Bulldog fans such as Carla Sepulvado, a senior speech communications major, do not seem to be fazed.

"I'm going to have fun and show school spirit," Sepulvado said. "I think LSU is probably underrating us. If we go in there with a strong defense and offense, we have a good chance of beating them. I think a lot of it is about confidence and not getting intimidated."

Michelle Morton, a senior elementary education major, said the long wait makes the game even more exciting.

"It's exciting because Tech has not played LSU in so long," Morton said. "I have a lot of friends at LSU. I think being rivals will be fun and [LSU] has done pretty well this year. I think winning would make Tech look really good."