Louisiana Tech will play LSU at Tiger Stadium on Saturday. The Bulldogs are preparing for ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge‘ ahead of the college football game.
It is an irrelevant song! (Kind of)
Don’t get me wrong, the Garth Brooks smash hit is a large part of the college football experience in Death Valley. However, it is not worth the extra preparation.
Louisiana Tech is preparing to play at Death Valley.
LSU has played Louisiana Tech 21 times in college football history. The first matchup was played on Oct. 28, 1901. LSU only lost once. Louisiana Tech won 6-0 in 1904.
Only seven of those games were played outside of Baton Rouge. Each of the last 11 games have been played at Tiger Stadium.
The 23rd matchup will be played on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. It will, once again, be played in Baton Rouge. Tiger Stadium is considered one of the most intimidating road environments in sports, if not the most intimidating environment. Especially for a night game, when 100,000+ Louisianimals have been drinking whiskey since the early hours of the morning.
As the Bulldogs prepare for the road game, practice sounds a little bit different. Louisiana Tech supposedly blared ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’ over the loudspeakers (I have not been able to verify the video) while running through drills on Thursday.
Louisiana Tech preparing for Callin Baton Rouge pic.twitter.com/6zO087DPvj
— Baton Rouge Boot Krewe Media (@BatonRougeBKM) September 10, 2026
Clemson took a similar approach before the season-opener.
Don’t get me wrong. It is a good idea to acclimate to the sounds of Garth Brooks. But it is not important in the grand scheme of preparation. It is not going to change the outcome of a game.
LSU plays ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’ before the game and before the fourth quarter.
To prepare specifically for ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’ is a waste of energy. It only plays twice and neither time is relevant to the on-field play.
The Garth Brooks song plays during pregame warmups, often as the visitors leave the field to head back into the locker room. That is not going to impact the players.
The song plays again between the third and fourth quarters. It is a stoppage in play. Players are not in formation. Neither team is lined up on the ball.
Plus, as we saw last Saturday, there is a high probability that LSU will hold a commanding lead over Lousiana Tech when ‘Callin’ Baton Rouge’ comes on for the second time. The game will already be over.
To prepare for Callin’ Baton Rouge is a waste of time. The focus should instead be on the band, on the crowd noise, and Boosie, not Garth Brooks. Just ask Dabo Swinney. It won’t matter!