BATON ROUGE — The excitement and tension build as the kickoff to LSU's 2026 campaign gets closer. The Tigers play host to the Clemson Tigers Saturday at 6:30 p.m. inside Tiger Stadium. You can watch the game on WBRZ.

It's safe to say LSU is at the center of the college football world this weekend, with ESPN and College Gameday both on campus.

On LSU's campus, preparations for the big game against Clemson consumed just about everyone. Fans and students packed stores, buying gear to represent the Purple and Gold. Others are trying to purchase last-minute tickets. There are tons of on-campus festivities, with one of them being an on-campus scavenger hunt put on by ESPN. A winner will be drawn, and they'll get exclusive seats in the stadium.

On a scale of 1-10 on how excited students are for the game, LSU Student David Soden said, "11. Honestly, I mean, finally ready to see LSU really win football games and win dominantly."

Arguably the biggest buzz around campus might revolve around College Gameday being on campus, and the energy that the show brings to campus. The LSU episode is its 500th show on the road. WBRZ spoke with College Gameday's Rece Davis and Desmond Howard, who told WBRZ that few places compare to LSU's Death Valley.

"Baton Rouge, I mean, it's a great college town; obviously everyone is excited for week one, kicking off with a game of this magnitude. To me, it's the way week 1 should be kicked off," Howard said.

"You know, I think this is my favorite place to come on Saturday night in terms of atmosphere inside the stadium," Davis said.

Students say that the atmosphere, the hype, and the scene have them excited. They say everywhere you look on LSU's campus is something that gets them pumped up for Saturday.

"It's been great, ya feel me? I feel like when you come to LSU, you're gonna get the excitement; you're gonna get that rock, ya feel me. Like we don't come to play," LSU student Courtney Matthews said.

And no game would be complete without the tailgaters. As early as Thursday night, Tailgaters began filling up the reserved lots, setting up more than a day before kickoff.

One of the tailgates in the RV lot, called 85eaux, even has its own nightclub.

"That was my wife's lovely idea. She and her good friend decided that we just need a little bit more, something a little extra, and we were sitting on the boat one day and were like, let's get a nightclub," 85eaux member Michael Arceneaux said.

Tailgating has been a long tradition here, but around the grill this year, fans say there's something different about this year's opener.

"It's different. Everything feels different this year. We feel pretty excited about that. Go Tigers," Arceneaux said.