JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of people are getting ready for Thursday’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

Duke and Ole Miss will take to the field for the big game.

In light of the recent events in New Orleans and the Allstate Sugar Bowl being postponed to tomorrow, safety is at the top of many people’s minds ahead of the Gator Bowl.

“Oh, I’m incredibly excited. I mean this is easily the biggest bowl game Duke has been in about 60 plus years, and you know after a lot of years of struggling, but making our way to the top you know this is a good opportunity, to get a good bowl game finally in a great location against a great Ole Miss team,” said Duke fan, Eli Hartsoe. 

“I think we’ve got a great shot,” said Ole Miss fan, Rob Bland. “We’ve got a great team so I think it’ll be a good game.”

Duke and Ole Miss fans are less than 24 hours away from cheering on their team at Everbank stadium at this year’s 80th Gator Bowl. 

With the game expected to have thousands of fans in attendance, safety and security is paramount.

It’s happening one day after a pickup truck drove through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more.

We reached out to the FBI in Jacksonville about the Gator Bowl.

They sent First Coast News a statement, saying: “They don’t have information indicating a local threat associated with this morning’s incident in New Orleans,” but they are “working closely with our law enforcement partners to share information and identify and disrupt any threats that may emerge in our communities.”

First Coast News crime and safety expert, Ken Jefferson talks about the safety measures in place at EverBank stadium.

“Around the stadium there are metal barricades to prevent that sort of thing. a vehicle can’t penetrate a crowd going in but prior to metal barricades you have law enforcement there with their vehicles in place,” Jefferson said. 

Jefferson also said he expects security to be tight at Thursday’s game.

“The security will be heightened, the officers will be on their P’s and Q’s to prevent anything like that from happening here in Jacksonville,” he said. 

According to TaxSlayer Gator Bowl website, all ticket holders and their belongings are subject to search upon entry into the stadium.

Fans may not check items at the gates or in the stadium. Fans will be asked to either store their prohibited items in fan lockers, take prohibited items back to their vehicles or dispose of prohibited items at the entrance of the stadium.