Today’s guest blog comes courtesy of Shannon J. Barbara, public relations coordinator, while Joellen is out.

 Week Thirteen

Congratulations to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish! Their victory over USC on Saturday placed the Irish in their first ever BCS National Championship Game and provided the legendary squad from South Bend, Indiana their first chance at a National Title since 1988. If we were ranking most popular games for the rest of the season, Irish fans searching frantically for BCS National Championship Game tickets in Miami would dwarf any other search we have ongoing!

But alas, there is still one matter left to be decided: their opponent. The SEC Championship game between Alabama and Georgia at the Georgia Dome is serving as the defacto National Semifinal and is also garnering high demand. But since it’s a neutral site game, it won’t appear on our rankings. Just know that these two games are outpacing anything else we’re seeing in college football.

Thanksgiving weekend proved to be a white-knuckle thrill ride! From The Big Game in the Horseshoe to the Sunshine Showdown in Tallahassee, rivalry games took center stage as the college football regular season draws to a close. Topping our chart are the Ohio State Buckeyes. They were a staple on the Top 25 all year long and their undefeated season will go down in history as a great “What if?” Regardless, fans turned out in droves to see their Buckeyes defeat ‘That School Up North’ as their game was well ahead of Florida State’s rivalry game against Florida in page views.

The Seminoles lost to the Gators, but interest in this matchup was sky high. Not all is lost for the Seminoles, however, as they qualified for the ACC Championship Game and will travel to Charlotte to take on Georgia Tech next weekend. Clemson came in third and was the last school to rank over 100,000 page views for the week. They also lost a heartbreaker to in-state rival South Carolina but should find themselves in a great bowl game for an impressive season.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Texas and UCLA. The Longhorns hosted TCU on Thanksgiving Night and the Bruins welcomed the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl in what became a Pac-12 Championship Preview. Neither of those teams were victorious and goes to show that StubHub Top 25 success doesn’t always translate to on-field glory.

Next week, stay tuned as we’ll compile the stats for the entire season and provide our overall Top 25 list. If you’ve been following our charts all year long, you probably have a good idea already which teams will rank high. For the full list of this week’s rankings, check it out at: www.stubhubtop25.com.

(Source: tumblr.com)

(Source: tumblr.com)

Week Eleven

Today’s guest blog comes courtesy of Shannon J. Barbara, public relations coordinator, while Joellen is out.

What a wild weekend! After weeks of dominating performances, the Alabama Crimson Tide finally fell for the first time all year. Their defeat opened the door for Kansas State, a longtime Big 12 cellar dweller to reign supreme atop all of college football. Despite those games with National Title implications, it’s a classic cross-town rivalry that’s still showing its mettle in the StubHub Top 25 college football rankings. As we near the end of the season, it’s time for various college rivalries to take the stage and we’ll expect the fun and fan demand to increase throughout the month.

While a 7-3 record would be greeted with cheers at many programs across the country, it registers as a down year for the USC Trojans. The preseason No. 1 team came into 2012 with lofty expectations and for the most part, have failed to live up to them. Despite all that, Trojans fans continue to support their team as they top our college football rankings for the second week in a row. Last week was USC’s homecoming and a relatively easy win over Arizona State, but the real fan activity surrounds their yearly cross-town showdown with the suddenly competitive UCLA Bruins. Since access to the Rose Bowl is easy for both Trojans and Bruins fans, both teams rank in our top five with more than 100,000 page views a piece. As most of the major college football programs will be playing down competition this week, I expect both these teams to top our rankings next week as well. Michigan takes second in our standings again as they host Iowa this week after a thrilling comeback win over Northwestern last Saturday, and Texas is third as they welcome new in-state rival TCU to town. As for the former AP No. 1 school, Alabama, they are ranked fifth this week on our chart largely because of their fateful matchup with Texas A&M. Their schedule softens this week with Western Carolina before finishing up with the Iron Bowl against Auburn. It’s interesting to note that the new top two schools in the BCS, Kansas State and Oregon rank 22^nd and 19^th on our list respectively. We’ll see if those smaller fan bases turn up the intensity in their search for tickets these coming weeks with so much on the line.

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

(Source: tumblr.com)

Week Ten

As we get nearer to the end of the college football season, we’re going to take a moment and admire the thrilling week of action we witnessed this past weekend. The sheer force of the various primetime games led to heart-racing evening in my household. From the battles in SEC country to the high wired acts of the Pac-12. and the answered prayers of Touchdown Jesus, all the games featured tense and exciting moments. These major matchups also turned in extremely impressive page views over the past week and forecast what will be an exhilarating race to the finish between the top four BCS teams.

Last weekend saw two games that practically served as de-facto semifinals for the national BCS picture when LSU played host to Alabama and USC welcomed the Oregon Ducks. While the road teams in each contest pulled out thrilling victories, it was the home teams that went mano-a-mano on our weekly page view scorecard. After all the dust was settled, the USC Trojans had more page views over LSU on our site by a landslide. To be fair, that advantage could probably be attributed to the fact that there were far fewer Alabama-LSU tickets on the market and their prices were out of reach for many fans, but the Oregon-USC game still proved to be extremely popular among the college football landscape. Ohio State, who currently hold the quietest 10-0 in CFB history thanks to their disqualification for postseason play, still manage to recruit an impressive fan following and took third on our chart. The Georgia Bulldogs, now in the driver’s seat for the SEC East crown, took fourth ahead of their game against Ole Miss, and it was Notre Dame, who provided quite a scare for all their fans with their triple overtime win over Pitt, slotted in fifth.

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

The first weekend of November features two high profile showdowns, Alabama playing LSU and Oregon facing their first test of the season at the Coliseum against USC. Those two games showcase an intriguing contrast between two stifling defenses and high-octane offenses. Whatever your football preference, this weekend has it all! But even in lieu of all that, it’s the Oklahoma Sooners that have risen to the forefront.

Despite losing to Notre Dame in Norman last weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners top our charts for the latest week in college football. While a slice of those page views can be attributed to Sooners fans looking to make the trek up to Ames to see them take on Iowa State, many of those page views were last minute fans looking to scoop up a ticket to see the Irish last weekend. The next two teams on our list have monster, season-defining home games this weekend: the USC Trojans and the LSU Tigers. The Oregon-USC game lost a little luster when the Trojans fell last Saturday to Arizona in Tucson, but their home date against the No. 4 Ducks will still be a thrilling affair. The LSU Tigers, who come into this weekend’s game ranked fifth in the country, are hosting their annual slugfest against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The football team and all LSU Tigers fans are primed to welcome the number one team into Death Valley Saturday night as they look to finally get a chance to avenge their 21-0 beatdown in the National Championship Game last year. Rounding out the top five are the Florida Gators, which return home to face Missouri, and Ohio State, which play host to Illinois and remain undefeated despite their ineligible for the postseason.

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

Week Eight

The national powers of the 2012 college football season are beginning to assert themselves. With Florida, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame notching impressive victories over the weekend, StubHub has continued to see incredibly high fan interest for these upcoming games. This weekend features a few Top 10 matchups as well as a classic Southern rivalry brimming with added intensity.

After finally securing the Paul Bunyan Trophy from their rivals at Michigan State, the Michigan Wolverines once again top our charts with page views and overall demand. The Wolverines take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend and their primetime matchup is outpacing some of the other high-profile games this weekend. This is partially due to Michigan’s massive fan base and the tremendous traveling support the Cornhuskers receive on the road. Coming in second is another one of our partners, the USC Trojans, who will follow up a blowout win against the Colorado Buffaloes with a quick road trip to Tucson to take on the Wildcats. We suspect that many of the page views we’ve seen recently are due to fans looking ahead to the Trojans’ gigantic showdown with the AP’s No. 2 team, the Oregon Ducks. The Florida Gators come in at No. 3 on our list, after finishing off an impressive home win over South Carolina. The Gators will need to repeat that performance against arch-nemesis Georgia in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” this weekend. With the game taking place in Jacksonville, many Gators fans seem to be looking to make the quick trip up state. Last, and most predictably, the Oklahoma Sooners, who host the highly-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame this Saturday, is getting a big look from fans. It’s a matchup that would garner national attention even without the stakes, but since both teams come in with a Top 10 BCS ranking, it’s grabbed the No. 4 spot on our scorecard!

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

(Source: tumblr.com)

While the Red River Rivalry wasn’t as close as expected, we still had a crazy week in college football. South Carolina, last week’s hot ticket item, lost on the road to LSU and we had the first BCS polls released. We’re going to keep it old school and still use the AP Poll for our rankings – plus I don’t want to get in between the Florida/Oregon controversy! Most of the top teams are on the road this week so it’s a traditional favorite that takes our top spot.

If you asked fans of Wolverine and Spartan football if they thought this college football season had been a disappointment so far, I’d imagine they’d both would agree with you. However, it hasn’t stopped passionate Michigan and Michigan State backers from frantically searching for tickets to this year’s in-state rivalry game. The matchup next weekend dominates our chart, even with both teams failing to crack the Top 20 in any poll.

Moving up to the second spot, which has been a recurring theme for them this week, is the Florida Gators. After jumping over Oregon in the first edition of the BCS polls released Sunday, the Gators’ upcoming matchup with SEC-East foe South Carolina is the second-most searched game on our list. South Carolina lost a tough battle in Death Valley last week and look to rebound in Gainesville. 

Ohio State continues their winning ways and fans are looking up tickets for their next home date with Purdue in great numbers. Buckeye fans have kept Ohio State near the top of our list all year and since the Buckeyes aren’t eligible for the postseason, it looks like fans are jumping at the chance to see their team’s successful season. Rounding out the Top 5 are traditional powers Notre Dame and USC which are both ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll and have home games this weekend.

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: http://www.stubhubtop25.com.

(Source: tumblr.com)

After another thrilling week of college football, we are starting to see some new teams emerge into the national title race. However, it’s a classic rivalry that takes the top spot in this week’s rankings.

Despite a thrilling shootout loss to West Virginia last week, it still hasn’t deterred Longhorn fans from snatching up tickets to their annual showdown with heated rival Oklahoma. The Red River Rivalry is the most searched and highest demanded game of the entire college football weekend. Both teams are looking for a foothold in the Big 12 and thousands of Texas and Oklahoma fans will descend upon the Cotton Bowl for this pivotal clash. Every year the Red River Rivalry is one of our top events on StubHub and that hasn’t changed in 2012. The average ticket price is hovering around $361 for this game and over 80 tickets have been sold over $1,000 per seat. For those who are curious, the highest priced ticket sold for this game was $1,729 for seats in the lower sideline and lowest priced ticket sold was still $100!

Coming in second this week is Ohio State. Buckeye fans, following their 63-38 victory over Nebraska, are incredibly excited about the new Urban Meyer era and are flocking in droves across state lines to see the Buckeyes in Indiana. Tickets in Bloomington are a little more accessible than those at the Horseshoe and many Buckeye fans are probably taking advantage of this opportunity. Rounding out the top 5 are three schools that all saw themselves jump into national title contention with huge wins over the weekend. Notre Dame, which demolished Miami, welcomes another challenging threat to South Bend in Stanford. South Carolina, which won arguably their biggest game in school history, will have to repeat that performance at LSU and Florida, which dispatched the previously mentioned Tigers last weekend at the Swamp, will look to continue their success against Vanderbilt.

For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

College football has been nothing short of spectacular this year, but we really haven’t seen the heavyweights take each other on head-to-head. All that changes this week with many teams squaring off in marquee matches.

As the calendar moves into October, several things are clear: the new Big 12 likes offense. Topping this week’s new slate of games is the showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Big 12 newcomers, the West Virginia Mountaineers. This primetime clash between unbeatens may have garnered hundreds of thousands of page views, but its only the second most impressive number to the combined 111 points both of these teams scored last weekend. Fans in Austin expect to see video game offenses and the demand is reflecting that.

Two other massive games take place down South in SEC country with Georgia heading up to Columbia to take on South Carolina and LSU travelling into the Swamp to battle Florida. Not only are both games highly searched, but tickets from the visiting team are also high on our chart! The close proximity of these schools and the intensity of the visiting fan bases help explain why Georgia and LSU are both in our Top 10 despite NOT having a home game. Notre Dame and Ohio State round out the top five as they each welcome high profile schools to their friendly confines with the Miami Hurricanes visiting the Golden Domers and Nebraska traveling into Columbus to take on the Buckeyes.

Check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.

(Source: tumblr.com)