TicketCity Reveals the Top 25 Hottest College Football Games for Week 5
The first weeks of this season are starting to mirror those of two years ago as top teams lose and poll rankings change but the hottest games as determined by demand hardly fluctuate.
Austin, TX (BusinessWire – September 14, 2009) – The 2009 College Football season rolls into week 5 with demand for the top games remaining steady.Comparable to thestart of the 2007 season, this season has seen top teams falter and others unexpectedly climb the rankings. In the initial weeks of 2007 No. 2 Michigan was shaken by Appalachian State and Stanford upset USC at the Coliseum. That was the year LSU rose from No. 7 to No. 2 and went on to become the first national champions with two losses. With No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 Oklahoma State dropping in the polls, and other major teams off to a shaky start, this season is looking once again like it could be anyone’s championship. According to ticket prices, however, games featuring matchups of teams with large and loyal fan bases continue to be in high demand despite losses incurred.
From this week to last there was no movement in the top eight games, proving reliable rivalries and teams with intensely devoted fan bases continue to be hot enough to drive demand. “The past two weeks have been rough for college football fans in Oklahoma,” comments Rafael Rivas, VP of Sales for TicketCity. Despite their losses, tickets to OU’s major rivalries at Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma State are still high with an average ticket price of $250 or higher. “Demand for those tickets is driven by loyal Oklahoma fans and their opponents. With long standing traditions surrounding each of those rivalries, ticket prices will remain strong throughout the season.”
The same can be said for Notre Dame. Their loss against Michigan dropped them off the poll rankings completely yet they appear three times on the top 25 list. “Notre Dame fans love their team and love their venue. All three games are at home and against strong teams such as USC, Boston College and Washington,” states Rivas. Despite losses, the lowest average price for a Notre Dame game on the top 25 list is $275.
The No.1 team, Florida remains strong in the polls and made four of the top eight games featured on the top 25 list. No. 2 USC only appears in one game on the top 25 list, driven primarily by demand from Notre Dame fans. “Though USC is a strong team this year, the school has had difficulty filling the stadium. Much of that has to do with the 91,000 seating capacity but also their home schedule. In the coming weeks, the UCLA at USC game will climb onto the top 25, but no other USC home game will,” addss Rivas.
Two games scheduled for this weekend making the top 25 list are Texas Tech at Texas and Nebraska at Virginia Tech. While this is the first appearance of the Tech at Texas game on the list, tickets for the matchup have skyrocketed in the last week. “Texas fans are looking to reclaim their dominance on their home turf and Tech fans are looking to knock the number 2 team down in another unexpected upset,” says Rivas. Regarding the Nebraska at Virginia Tech game he concludes, “Nebraska fans travel well, and with so few tickets allotted to the traveling team traditionally, Nebraska is keeping demand for the matchup high.”
TicketCity releases this week's list of the top 25 hottest games of the 2009 regular college football season based on average ticket price. The list was accumulated by compiling a majority of the available tickets on the secondary market throughout the entire country. The secondary market is comprised of over 800 established ticket brokers, and fans who are listing extra tickets to sell.
Prices will continue to fluctuate throughout the 2009 season and TicketCity will continue to update the hottest games list from week to week. View the top 25 games list below or visit the TicketCity.com web site and search for Top 25.
TicketCity sells tickets for all sports, concerts and theatre event but specializes in tickets for all college sports and championship events, including college football and college bowl games. Founded in 1990, TicketCity is a trusted source for secondary market tickets to events around the world. TicketCity partners include NBC Sports, Scout and RootZoo. TicketCity has been named to Inc Magazine's prestigious Inc 5000 list in 2007, 2008 and 2009.