TicketIQ Top 25 Week 10 Update
November 7, 2013
As the season winds down, all eyes are on the undefeated teams to see who will have a spot in the BCS National Championship. The primetime ACC matchup of unbeatens last weekend proved to be a blowout as Florida State took care of Miami to advance to 8-0. Ohio State also stayed undefeated with an easy win against the Purdue Boilermakers. Many other teams in the Top 25 had a bye this week. However, the bye week sets up some big match-ups that could shake the top of the rankings in the AP Poll and the TicketIQ Top 25 rankings this week.
The Crimson Tide had a bye week this past weekend but have a very important game in Tuscaloosa this week. Alabama, the top team in the country, hosts #13 LSU this Saturday after having the whole week to prepare for their hardest game since beating Ole Miss. ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance for the game as well. Alabama football tickets dropped slightly this week to $158 average ticket price. They also dropped one spot to #8 in our rankings. The allure of being the top team in the nation has kept Alabama in the Top 10 along with the upcoming showdowns against LSU and Auburn.
Oregon also had a bye this past weekend after defeating UCLA on October 26. The Ducks will have to go from one big matchup to another when they travel to #5 Stanford this week. Marcus Mariota is still trying to chase the Heisman and will have his opportunity against stiff competition. Oregon football tickets did not change drastically this week in our rankings, moving up a spot to #5, yet dropping to $175 average price. One reason Oregon has stayed where they are is because of a lack of competitive games after the Stanford game. That might change if Oregon can stay undefeated and in the national championship talks.
The Hurricanes suffered their first defeat of the season against Florida State last week. Jameis Winston had 325 passing yards and led the Seminoles to a blowout win. However, Miami football tickets actually broke in the TicketIQ Top 25 rankings after the loss. The average ticket price of $112 is a five percent increase from last week for the ‘Canes. Miami does not have another ranked team on the schedule and has only one win against a Top 25 team on their resume. Because their strength of schedule is so low, it is nearly impossible for the Hurricanes to be in national championship talks. It also does not help that their starting RB Duke Johnson is out for the season with an ankle injury.
Speaking of the Seminoles, Florida State is a serious contender for the national championship this season. Jameis Winston is having a breakout year and has had two statement wins against Top 10 teams. FSU does not have another ranked team on the schedule, but does finish the season on the road in Gainesville against Florida. They are also averaging the 3rd most points per game at 51, while only allowing an average of 13 points per game. With all the hype around the Noles, Florida State football tickets took another hit in the TicketIQ Top 25 rankings. FSU fell five spots to #21 at an average ticket price of $116, a ten percent decrease from last week. Yet again, fans should take advantage while prices are this low.
It is incredible how different a team could look from one season to the next in college football. The feel good story of the year has been Auburn. The Tigers went 3-9 last year but are 8-1 this year and challenging Alabama in the SEC West. Gus Malzahn has turned this program around to be relevant in the hardest conference in college football. Auburn football tickets did drop a spot in our rankings to #12 at an average price of $142. Prices could seriously rise as we get closer to the Iron Bowl at the end of the season.
Urban Meyer’s unbeaten streak stayed in tact this week with Ohio State’s demolition of Purdue. Although the Buckeyes are ranked #4 in the nation across the national pools, they remain at #3 in the TicketIQ Top 25 rankings. Ohio State football tickets had their average ticket price go down a percent to $213. The one issue for Ohio State is their strength of schedule. The only ranked teams they have played are Wisconsin and Northwestern. In a year when strength of schedule could be crucial in whether a team makes the national championship, Ohio State has to hope more undefeated teams fall to have a shot to play in Pasadena.
LSU is yet another team who had a bye this past weekend. However, the bye comes at a great time when the Tigers are heading into their biggest game of the season. #13 LSU has a chance to knock off the #1 team in the nation when they head to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. The week after, the Tigers will host Johnny Football as #15 Texas A&M visit Baton Rouge. LSU football tickets dropped a spot in the TicketIQ Top 25 rankings this week to #9. Their average ticket price also fell two percent to $155. Prices should increase because of the rest of LSU’s competitive schedule.
