By Bradley Corbett
BYU vs. the University of Southern California is expected to be one of the biggest games of the year for the Cougar football team, and ticket sales are soaring.
'We''ve had an unusually high number of calls for the BYU game,' said Zac Moore, a 20-year-old USC student and ticket sales agent for the USC ticket office. 'When a team like Stanford comes to town we sell around 2,000 tickets to the opposing team, but we expect around 10,000 BYU fans to come to this game.'
The historic Los Angles Coliseum, home to the USC Trojans and the 1984 Summer Olympics, seats 92,000 fans.
'There will probably be 70,000 people at the BYU game,' Moore said.
USC hasn''t lost a home game in a year and a half, and they are expected to have another great season.
Although BYU fans can''t wait to face USC, USC fans see BYU as just another team on the schedule.
'BYU is just a bump in the road; we are more concerned with Notre Dame and Auburn,' said Moore. 'Every BYU fan who calls up for tickets says how they are going to upset us, but we will beat them easily.'
Fans who call the USC ticket office will pay $35 for a ticket, but they can reference the alumni group number '878' and get a $10 discount. Fans who attend the game will sit in the west end zone.
'There is a lot of interest in that game,' said David Miles, ticket manager for the BYU ticket office.
Home games at Lavell Edwards Stadium will also be of interest to fans this year. BYU will open the season against Georgia Tech on Aug. 28. The team will then host Stanford, the Air Force football team, Colorado State, Boise State and conclude with the University of Utah.
'Students are smart to buy the All-Sport Pass,' Miles said. 'We will sell out of most home games this year. Last year''s losing season was an anomaly. Fans are not concerned with last year, and it''s reflected in renewals of ticket sales.'
The All-Sports Pass costs $85 dollars and assures students season tickets to all BYU football games. The pass also allows students into all of BYU''s sporting events.
'It makes a lot of sense to buy the All-Sports Pass, because if you''re a big fan you will save hundreds of dollars,' Miles said.
All-Sports Passes can be bought on the Internet. Students can then use the computer print out as a receipt. Students then take the receipt to the Marriott Center Ticket office and receive their tickets. In order to sit with friends, students need to claim their tickets in a group.
'One person can come up to the ticket office with as many receipts as they want and redeem them,' Miles said. 'The key is to buy them first on the Internet because that assures you your seats.'
Any student of a university here in Utah can buy an All-Sport Pass. UVSC students, for example, just need to provide a valid student ID when they come to the game. Students interested in buying their All-Sports Pass can visit www.byucougars.com, then click on tickets.