 The intrastate rivalry featured two teams which were geographically close (Baton Rouge and New Orleans are roughly apart) and drew on socio-political tensions between the state's capital and seat of government and its biggest and most culturally important city.As opponents in the SIAA, Southern Conference and SEC, the Tulane rivalry flourished for many years but slowly declined after Tulane left the SEC and de-emphasized athletics.Until 1949, the series was very competitive, with LSU leading 23–18–5; since 1949, LSU has dominated, going 45–4–2.