‘Small’ Autzen crowd to see title game

The University of Oregon is only a game away from just its sixth trip ever to the Rose Bowl after 116 seasons of football. And today’s game against 32-point underdog UCLA is the first Pac-12 Championship game in the newly expanded league. Not only that, but the game is right here, at home, in ear-splitting Autzen Stadium.

Yet despite a likely sellout of more than 54,000 fans, today’s game could also be the smallest crowd to see a Ducks game at Autzen since the stadium was remodeled in 2002 and expanded from about 41,500 to 54,000 seats. The smallest crowd ever in the remodeled stadium’s 10-season history is 55,187 against lowly Idaho on Sept. 14, 2002.

In recent years, crowds have averaged between 57,000 and 60,000 fans because UO football has become so popular that anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 standing-room-only tickets are always in demand days before a home game.

But today’s game? Maybe not so much buzz.

The Pac-12 North Division champion Ducks get the home turf because their record (10-2 overall, 8-1 conference) is better — decidedly better — than South Division champion UCLA (6-6, 5-4). The Bruins’ unimpressive record may be one reason the game has attracted less-than-usual ticket frenzy.

The only reason UCLA is in the game, in fact, is because USC — which held off the Ducks 38-35 at Autzen on Nov. 19 and pummelled the Bruins 50-0 last week — is finishing a two-year ban on postseason play. The Bruins’ head coach, Rick Neuheisel, already has been fired — but is being allowed to coach his alma mater one last time today.

Also, dare we say it, Duck fans may have become a little blasé. After all, their team played in the Rose Bowl just two years ago — and competed in the BCS National Championship game this past January.

Streak not in jeopardy

Still, Autzen has sold out for Duck games 81 straight times, dating back to the 1999 season. Even if the 100 or so reserved-seat tickets that were still available for the game as of Thursday don’t sell, even if not a single fan showed up for the game, that streak is not in jeopardy, UO athletic department spokesman David Williford said.

That’s because this is technically not a home game for the Ducks but rather a Pac-12 championship game that just happens to be played here because of the Ducks’ superior record.

And because of the neutral status, the Ducks will not dominate the Duck Vision scoreboard in pregame introductions; longtime UO public address announcer Don (“It never rains in Autzen Stadium”) Essig will be allowed to make only “non-game-related” announcements while New York Yankees PA announcer Paul Olden handles the game stuff; and graphics adorning the stadium will feature both the Ducks and Bruins.

About 70 percent of the UO’s 42,000 or so season-ticketholders responded to an early November deadline to secure tickets to today’s game by credit card, Williford said, even though the Ducks still had four games to play, including a key game to win at then-undefeated North Division rival Stanford on Nov. 12.

Secondary market

The few remaining reserved-seat tickets to today’s game are in the $80 to $110 range, with premium club-level seating closer to $175 per ticket.

So then why were tickets still available online Thursday for as little as $20?

That’s because, just like with bowl games, tickets to this inaugural conference championship game have most certainly fallen into the hands of the secondary ticket market. As with any home Duck game, the other team got an allotment of tickets — in this case, 2,800 for UCLA. Also, the Pac-12 Conference office got 2,500 tickets, Williford said.

Standing-room-only tickets will go on sale today if the 100 or so remaining reserved-seat tickets sell before kickoff, Williford said.

“We anticipate this game is going to be a sellout,” he said.

Tickets could be found Thursday at online ticket sites. There were 891 tickets available as of 10:30 p.m. on tiqiq.com starting at $20, and 1,190 tickets on stubhub.com starting at $24.

Sellout or not, Eugene police say they expect heavy traffic — especially around Autzen Stadium — this afternoon, beginning several hours before the 5 p.m. kickoff.

To ease traffic congestion in the Ferry Street Bridge and Coburg Road areas, police say motorists who are not headed to the game should consider using alternate routes.

Anyone who needs to get to a business near the stadium this afternoon is likely to encounter delays. Police say they will begin controlling traffic in the area sometime around 12:30 p.m.

The Autzen parking lot will open at 1 p.m., the Moshofsky center at 2 p.m. and the stadium itself at 3:30 p.m.

Reporter Jack Moran contributed to this report.