Demand Rankings: College Football’s Most Sought-After Seats for Week 2 Games

Counting down the 10 most intriguing matchups and the most in-demand tickets for Saturday’s slate of games.

Demand Rankings is Sports Illustrated’s weekly look at the games and sports events that are driving the most demand for tickets across sports, including college football, NFL, NBA, golf, tennis and more. Here’s this week’s list of the most sought-after seats in college football.

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After a thrilling Week 1 that featured plenty of wild finishes only college football could provide, Week 2 has plenty to live up to. The good news? With big early-season conference games, some high-profile clashes among the sport’s biggest brands and even an annual rivalry game, Week 2 could be just as good if not better than Week 1 was. Here are the most intriguing matchups and most in-demand seats for Saturday’s slate.

1. Alabama at Texas, noon ET

DKR Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin

Demand Meter: 😍

The biggest challenge of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas is here: hosting Alabama and former boss Nick Saban. Sarkisian helped take the Crimson Tide offense to another level during his time as the team’s offensive coordinator before heading to Austin, where he now coaches former No. 1 QB recruit Quinn Ewers. Ewers and star running back Bijan Robinson will have quite the challenge keeping up with an Alabama offense, quarterbacked by defending Heisman winner Bryce Young, that put up 55 points against Utah State in its opener. Can the Longhorns pull off a massive upset on their home field against the nation’s No. 1 team? Texas fans are ready: The average ticket price for the game per SI Tickets is nearly $600.

2. Kentucky at Florida, 7 p.m. ET

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Fla.

Demand Meter: 😍

The atmosphere at The Swamp in Gainesville last Saturday when the Gators won a thriller over Utah was electric. It should be similarly fun to be in the building this week when Kentucky visits for both teams’ SEC openers. The story here is the battle of the quarterbacks: Kentucky signal-caller Will Levis is essential to what the Cats do on offense and has risen up NFL draft boards, while Florida’s Anthony Richardson shone in the opener against Utah and has as much talent as any player in college football.

3. Baylor at BYU, 10:15 p.m. ET

LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah

Demand Meter: 😍

This matchup of potential dark-horse College Football Playoff contenders should be a blast in Provo. The defending Big 12 champion, Baylor’s defense was among the 10 best units nationally last season and will be tested by an explosive BYU offense led by QB Jaren Hall. The Cougars opened with an electric showing on offense, putting up 50 points and almost 600 total yards against USF. This game is huge for BYU’s hopes of going to a New Year’s Six bowl and would be a massive road win if Baylor can pull it off.

4. USC at Stanford, 7:30 p.m. ET

Stanford Stadium, Stanford, Calif.

Demand Meter: 😀

Lincoln Riley gets his first real test as head coach of the Trojans on Saturday night in Palo Alto. USC cruised past an overmatched Rice team in its opener behind some eye-popping offensive numbers, including an efficient 19-of-22 passing for 249 yards in Caleb Williams’s debut with the team. The competition level rises a bit this week, although Stanford is coming off a dismal 3–9 campaign in 2021 that marked the Cardinal’s worst season since 2006. Tickets for the game are going for as low as $38, per SI Tickets.

5. Tennessee at Pitt, 3:30 p.m. ET

Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh

Demand Meter: 😀

Excitement is extremely high in Knoxville, and the Vols did nothing to quell that fire in a dominant opener against Ball State last Thursday. Now, the dynamic Tennessee offense, led by dual-threat QB Hendon Hooker, gets a much stiffer test on the road at Pittsburgh. We all saw just how electric the Pitt fan base was in Week 1’s Backyard Brawl win over West Virginia, using an interception returned for a touchdown to get over the hump in a rivalry game victory. A win here for the Panthers would solidify them as serious ACC contenders.

6. South Carolina at Arkansas, noon ET

Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Ark.

Demand Meter: 😀

There’s renewed optimism about South Carolina with Spencer Rattler now under center for the Gamecocks. Can they open SEC play with an upset victory on the road in Fayetteville? Rattler’s turnover woes from his time at Oklahoma will be tested in a raucous environment against one of the better-coached defenses in the country, though Cincinnati was able to move the ball well through the air against the Razorbacks in Week 1. The average get-in price for this SEC clash is just $39, according to SI Tickets.

7. Iowa State at Iowa, 4 p.m. ET

Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

Demand Meter: 🙂

There was nothing pretty about Iowa’s opener, a 7–3 slugfest against South Dakota State that saw the Hawkeyes score twice on safeties to provide the difference. It was an embarrassing offensive display that will undoubtedly have to be better in this rivalry clash with Iowa State if the Hawkeyes want to start 2–0. Iowa has won the last six meetings in the series, including a 27–17 win last season in a top-10 clash. The average ticket price on SI Tickets is just over $250, second-highest of Week 2.

8. Appalachian State at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET

Kyle Field, College Station, Texas

Demand Meter: 🙂

Arguably the most entertaining game of Week 1 was Appalachian State’s wild 63–61 loss to North Carolina. App State scored 40 points in the fourth quarter and had multiple cracks at tying the game on two-point conversions that came up just short. Texas A&M is a different beast defensively than the Tar Heels were, but that offensive explosion should strike some fear into the Aggies, who were sloppy at times in Week 1 against Sam Houston State. If the Mountaineers can move the ball against the TAMU defense, things could get interesting.

9. Washington State at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. ET

Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wis.

Demand Meter: 🙂

Camp Randall is one of the best places to take in a college football game, and the Badgers play host to their first big test of the season against 1–0 Washington State. Wisconsin is known for its defense, but is breaking in a lot of new faces on that side of the ball. We’ll see whether that causes problems against a Wazzu offense that got an efficient first showing from transfer QB Cameron Ward in its opener. The Cougars will have to handle Badgers star running back Braelon Allen on the other side, who rattled off a 96-yard touchdown run in Week 1.

10. Mississippi State at Arizona, 11 p.m. ET

Arizona Stadium, Tucson

Demand Meter: 🙂

Coming off a miserable last two seasons, Arizona looked much improved in Week 1 in a road win at San Diego State. A big reason? Quarterback play from transfer Jayden de Laura (Washington State), who looked sharp and found quite the connection with transfer wide receiver Jacob Cowing (UTEP). That connection will need to carry over into Week 2 against Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense at Mississippi State, which should be able to move the ball against the Wildcats defense.

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