Homecoming game tickets selling fast
Less than 5,000 tickets remain for the college football matchup between the No. 18 California Golden Bears and the No. 7 ASU Sun Devils, on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7:15 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium.
Single-game tickets for the California game are priced between $25 and $40 each.
The Sun Devils, now 7-0 and 3-0 after a 44-20 win over Washington, have made school history reaching the #4 slot in the BCS rankings and moving to #7 on the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll this week. Cal enters the contest 5-2, 2-2 in the Pac-10. The Golden Bears fell 30-21 to UCLA at the Rose Bowl last weekend.
ASU football Head Coach Dennis Erickson downplayed the recent standings and worries more about how injuries to key players will affect the university’s next five games.
“I like where we're at. Anytime you play seven games and win them, it's a pretty good position to be in,” says Erickson. “Obviously, injury-wise, we've had some serious injuries that have affected us a little bit, although we've played well. Ryan [Torain], of course, missing him for the year hurts us, but he's been gone in a couple other games, and Keegan has stepped up and done a nice job. With Brent Miller, hopefully we'll have him back in the next week or two.”
The Homecoming match will put great pressure on the Sun Devils on their own turf, facing Golden Bears wide receiver DeSean Jackson and quarterback Nate Longhorn, who had an ankle injury. Erickson describes the Golden Bears’ defense as “very physical.”
“They're going to play eight-man front a lot of the time to take the running game. That's just a principle of their defense. They're going to come up and stop the run, and then force you to throw it, and they're good in the secondary. So, it's going to be a real challenge for us offensively,” says Erickson. “Obviously, we've got to be able to run. Hopefully, we can make some plays in the passing game. That's going to be a real key to having some success against them.”
Saturday will be the 27th meeting between the Sun Devils and the Golden Bears. The all-time series is tied at 13 wins apiece, with ASU holding a 9-6 lead at Sun Devil Stadium. Cal has beaten Arizona State four straight times, including last season's 49-21 win in Berkeley.
Dennis Erickson is one of two first-year coaches with an unbeaten team. Coach Erickson joins Boston College's Jeff Jagodzinski as coaches who are 7-0 in their first season at their respective schools. The 7-0 start for Erickson is the best start for an ASU coach in his first season in school history.
Tickets are on sale for ASU's two other remaining home football games with USC (Nov. 22, 6 p.m.) and arch-rival Arizona (Dec. 1, 6 p.m.).
Only 700 tickets remain for the USC contest on Thanksgiving at Sun Devil Stadium.
Remaining tickets for the ASU/UA game are priced between $40 and $50 each.
Tickets can be obtained by calling the Sun Devil Athletics Ticket Office at 480-727-0000 or online at www.thesundevils.com.
Chakris Kussalanant, Chakris.Kussalanant@asu.edu
(480) 727-9181