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UCLA Vs. Kansas State The Cheapest Alamo Bowl Ticket In Four Years

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Though many fans may still have a bitter taste in their mouth following this past week’s defeat, the UCLA Bruins completed a very successful season in 2014, finishing with a 9-3 record. Last week’s harrowing 31-10 loss to Stanford was all the more frustrating since the Bruins would have advanced to the Pac-12 championship had they won, but watching Oregon’s dominant display over Arizona showcased that UCLA would have had a very difficult time getting a win.

Despite the loss, however, the Bruins were able to get a premium bowl placement. UCLA will be playing on January 2nd in the Valero Alamo Bowl against the 11th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas State enters the contest with an identical 9-3 record, and they are also coming off a frustrating end-of-season defeat at the hands of the Baylor Bears. Both teams will be looking for vengeance, but they will have to wait until after the New Year before they can get on the gridiron.

This is the second time the Wildcats will be playing in the Alamo Bowl (they lost 37-34 to Purdue in the 1998 Alamo Bowl) and the first time the Bruins have ever participated. With a fresh matchup and two teams ranked in the top 15 in the Associated Press Poll, you would think that ticket prices would be relatively high. But that is not the case this year, according to PrimeSport, the official travel and hospitality package provider of the 2015 Alamo Bowl.

Currently, the average price for Alamo Bowl tickets on PrimeSport.com is $134 with the cheapest ticket available starting at $27. The average price is $63 cheaper than last year’s game between the Texas Longhorns and Oregon Ducks, a game the Ducks would eventually win 30-7. Last year’s Alamo Bowl had an average price of $197 on the secondary market with a get-in rate of $79, almost three times higher than this year’s lowest priced tickets. Oregon will be playing a day earlier this year than UCLA in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl. According to PrimeSport, the College Football Playoff Semifinal tickets at the Rose Bowl have an average price of $393, almost three times higher than the Valero Alamo Bowl.

In fact, this is the cheapest tickets for the Alamo Bowl have been in the past four years. The 2011 meeting between the Baylor Bears and Washington Huskies was the most expensive ticket in recent history with an average price on the secondary market of $213. That game featured Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III leading his Bears team to a 67-56 victory over Washington, setting the record for most points scored by one team in bowl history (the record would be broken six days later when West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33 in the Orange Bowl.)

Last year’s meeting did have the additional element of being the last game coached by long-time Longhorns head Mack Brown. It had been announced for some time leading up to the game that Brown was out as coach so this was the last opportunity for fans to see him man the sidelines. In addition, Texas was playing in-state so Longhorns fans had less than a two hour drive to get to San Antonio from Austin. That certainly added increase demand for Alamo Bowl tickets and kept the price up.

This year, there will be no in-state teams competing at the Alamodome for the first time in four years, obviously having a major impact on ticket demand. Fans traveling from Los Angeles should make sure to use PrimeSport as a reference for all travel and hospitality accommodations. As the official travel and hospitality provider, PrimeSport offers fans the ability to purchase travel packages that include a two-night stay at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio. PrimeSport also has in-stadium hospitality packages that includes all-you-can-eat pre-game party access, as well as pre-game field passes.

The Wildcats will be a difficult team to beat as evidence by Kansas State currently is a 1.5 point favorite. But the Bruins have had several exceptional victories this season, and Brett Hundley and the Bruin offense will be yearning to get back out on the field to try and forget the Stanford game. If they can get back to how they played against the USC Trojans, they’ll be in position to get the win and make a lot of UCLA fans very happy. Especially those who traveled to the game.

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