Saturday not only marks the beginning of NIU’s football season, but also a rare three-day weekend.

Using the logic of a college student majoring in mathematics, these two occurrences, when added together, equate to one thing – it’s time for a road trip.

One year ago from Saturday, the NIU football team sent the Maryland Terrapins crawling back into their shells after a 20-13 overtime victory. But now, the Terps’ chance for revenge is on the horizon.

The rematch is set for 6 p.m. EST [5 p.m. CT] Saturday at No. 20 Maryland’s Byrd Stadium, and here’s how to get there – on the college-student budget.

Pre-trip arrangements

Maryland offers a $5 discount on game tickets through their Web site, umterps.collegesports.com, and with a credit card, one seat will run $20.

For those who want to attempt to prove that they’re still 17 or younger, there’s another $5 discount lying in the weeds, and be sure to get your tickets at the Will Call gate because there’s an $8 fee to send them through the mail.

Also, unless the car or some random Maryland student’s floor sounds like a good place to grab some shut-eye, a place to stay is in order.

Every motel and hotel chain from the Holiday Inn down to the local Econo Lodge, which charges the low-low price of $75 a night, are located on the main strip – Baltimore Avenue. Also, the University of Maryland Inn and Conference Center, located on campus, still have rooms available for the weekend at $99 a night.

Two vital elements

Food and fuel are going to be a necessity on a 760-mile, 11-hour road trip if a flight out of O’Hare or Midway isn’t in the budget.

A ride on the train could also get the job done, with a cab ride to the stadium costing $15.

So, making a few estimations, here’s how much fuel is going to cost:

Say that the average vehicle gets about 25 miles-per-gallon. With the current price of gas being $1.86 on www.gaspricewatch.com fuel costs are going to run about $110 round-trip.

With that being said, a McDonald’s diet and a few drinks and hot dogs at the stadium will have to get the job done, running about $5 per meal.

All in all, the grand total price for one person, including food, gas, lodging and a ticket, would run about $230. Though, if two people were to split gas and lodging, each person would only have to empty $138 out of the wallet. The price per person could drop as low as $90 if four brave souls are willing to squeeze into one room at the Econo Lodge for the night.