BATON ROUGE — With both LSU and Southern University hosting home football games this Saturday, law enforcement is stepping up its presence across the city.

It is the first weekend of the season with both programs taking the field at the same time and police say they have been preparing alongside the teams.

Officers have been meeting with both LSU and Southern Athletics, security teams and campus police departments to get ready for the crowds. Fans can expect to see more uniformed officers, but plainclothes officers and others who are not visible will also be out monitoring the crowds.

"We're going to have a lot of officers out there," a law enforcement official said. "You might see an increased presence — uniformed officers, but also we're gonna have plainclothes officers out there, even officers that you can't see."

Police are also reminding fans to expect heavy traffic around both campuses before and after games, including earlier in the day as tailgating gets underway.

Anyone heading to the games is being asked to park in safe spots, keep their vehicles locked and store valuables out of sight. According to police, the vast majority of vehicle break-ins involve cars that are left unlocked.

Law enforcement is also running its Drive Sober, Get Pulled Over campaign throughout the entire football season, with extra patrols looking for impaired drivers.

"Have a plan before you even start drinking because a decision like that can wreck many lives," the official said, "your life, other people's lives, by injuring someone, killing somebody and it's completely, completely preventable."

Police say rideshare apps and designated drivers are options available to fans who have been drinking.