Single-game USF-UCF tickets on sale Friday

UCF has announced that a limited number of tickets for next week's USF-UCF game in Orlando will go on sale Friday morning at 9 a.m. at a cost of $65 each.

Aside from USF's contractual allotment, UCF had been limiting single-game tickets to the USF game to season-ticket holders, which start at $210. With seats available with a week remaining before the game, UCF has made tickets available to the general public. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at (407) 839-3900, or at ticketmaster.com. Here's the official UCF release.

LINE SET: USF's starting offensive line for Saturday's opener against Tennessee-Martin is set, with all five players boasting at least one season as a starter.

Senior Ryan Schmidt, who started at guard last season, will start at left tackle, with three other starters back from last season: senior Jake Griffin at center, sophomore Zach Hermann at right guard and senior Marc Dile at right tackle. Senior Matt Huners, who missed most of last season recovering from injury, returns at left guard, where he started 10 games in 2006.

Sophomore Jake Sims, who entered the fall as the starting right tackle, is the top reserve, and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Warren, thought to miss Saturday's game with an ankle injury, is healthy and should play Saturday, offensive line coach Mike Simmonds said. If the Bulls are able to play their second line, freshman Danous Estenor and walk-on Chaz Hine would make their USF debuts, with walk-on Joe Herzhauser rounding out the second five.

BIG TIME: Saturday's game isn't just Tennessee-Martin's first game against a BCS-conference opponent: It's believed to be the largest crowd the Skyhawks have played to in 84 seasons of football.

The Skyhawks, who moved to Division I-AA in 1995, played before 29,253 in last year's opener at Southern Miss. Saturday's game already has more than 43,000 tickets distributed, though UTM will likely have a bigger crowd in November when they play at Auburn.

REVENGE: While USF has never played the Skyhawks, they're not completely unfamiliar to the entire program. Former USF assistant coach Rich Rachel, now the team's director of high school relations, was an assistant at Morehead State from 1976-78 and played UTM each season. The Skyhawks won all three games, by a combined score of 112-16.

Comments

[Chris]

I hope the UCF fans see how the school has tried to cheat them and boycot the remaining tickets. Any UCFers reading this you should know that my tickets were only $50 through USF. If they don't sell out this game, UCF admin will have made a huge marketing blunder. It would also give credence to ending the series, they will barely sell-out the game if they do at all!

$65??? Do they really expect people to pay that for tickets that likely won't be even in the first level anymore?

[Chalko]

You guys are idiots. These $65 tickets are special seats that usually aren't available for purchase.

[Growler Bull]

UCiF fans can't even sell their "SuperBowl", aka UCiF vs USF. Why should this series continue? Who wants to pay $65 to watch lopsided football every year? What does USF have to gain by stooping down to UCiF's level? Is it really entertainment to watch a superior USF crouch down, unbuckle its pants and deficate all over UCiF for three hours in a stadium that could collapse at anytime?

[G.A.]

Guys, it takes a certain kind of person to use the word "defecate" in a public forum, and another kind entirely to spell it incorrectly. Again, the time I spend deleting inappropriate comments is time I don't spend reporting and writing.

[Mike Lakeland]

UCF's marketing department sucks:

February 2008
"The USF game is our most special game, so you have to buy season tickets to see it."

August 2008
"uhhh....uhhh....we need to sell out our frying pan stadium....so we'll screw you on charges to get butts in the seats!"

I love how UCiF fans call USF out for selling family packaged for less than $100 each ticket. This is no different. Actually, it's really worse than our deal...

Edit: if I double-post, it's because I used r.ape instead of screw up there. My apologies if any women and/or children are offended.

[SHG]

Wow you guys just stupid.

[G.A.]

Mike L., if "screw" is taking the high road, it might be something just to say out loud instead of posting on a public forum. A little perspective ...

[Nick Lachey]

Guys, guys...can't we all just love one another? I'm going to write a new ballad that will bring us all together.

Just got my UCF tickets.

[Mike Lakeland]

meh...I guess I should wash out my mouth. My apologies.

UCF still stinks.

[cg]

Growler Bull has written the sentence of the century. It makes me laugh in my cube.

[Ken]

I know I'm coming late to this, but I'm sick of apologies "if anyone is offended." If a person does something wrong, just apologize--period. The assessment is yours. And I would appreciate all of us using appropriate language for a public post here.

[UCFrox]

Come on you stupid USF people, can you stop whining about stuff you don't even understand, your manager at McDonald's just said your break is over, get back to work!