College football opener has eye-watering ticket prices

An action-packed Week 1 college football schedule brings together two teams expected to compete for a championship this season as the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Texas Longhorns.

The Buckeyes are the reigning NCAA champions, while the Longhorns were named the No. 1 ranked team for 2025. The coming together of two powerhouse organizations will be the focus for football fans this weekend, and ticket prices certainly reflect that.

As of Friday, the cheapest seats available on StubHub were priced at $260 in the upper bowl. Some tickets at center field in the lower bowl are set at $2,500, which is around the same price as the cheapest tickets for Super Bowl LIX earlier this year.

But despite those high prices, the stadium is expected to be a sell-out for Saturday’s game. It brings together two elite college football programs and will give fans a first look at Arch Manning as the starting QB for the Longhorns.

But while Texas are the top-ranked team in the country, it’s Ohio State who are actually favored by the bookmakers. They are the national champions and hold home advantage for Saturday’s game, but Stephen A. Smith has questioned why Texas are going into the first game of the season as underdogs.

“I’m trying to figure out how you’re the No. 1 team in the country and you’re coming into a game as the underdog,” Smith said. “You’re either No. 1, or you’re not. It doesn’t make sense to me. You’re the No. 1 team in the nation, and you have the favorite to win the Heisman, but you’re an underdog for the game.”

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