…because my nephew's name is Jack and he's going to his first game…if we can find a third seat in section 18 row 40ish. I got two for this game, and they weren't cheap, but prices have shot up a ton since.

Oh, this is the new feature where we talk about the secondary ticket market because I'm too cheap to donate money to get in line to buy season tickets. I've been scrounging for most of my adult life, and while it usually works out (my best friend and old sports ticket co-conspirator and I have a motto of "Everything always works out") there have been two days that it didn't. One was a 2006 World Series. The other, the 2010 Michigan State game:

On the way up, my consultant and I had agreed on a plan: We would spend pre-game trying to run into people we know, asking if they had singles with them. If not, we would wait until just after kickoff, when sellers were cursing their greed and desperate to pocket something before heading in. We had another ride lined up just in case not everyone got a ticket, our pockets were full of $10s and $5s, and we were ready – just in case – to bail for my consultant's 62-inch HDTV, where the DVR was running. I trusted this plan; my consultant has a degree in economics from Michigan State University, which I hear is a pretty good school.

I've never trusted the gameday ticket market for an MSU game again. According to Ralph at TiqIQ the cheapest tickets on their sites since then wound up at $170 (East Lansing), $146 (Ann Arbor), $110 (EL), and $104 (EL) by gametime. A hundred is the floor for these games. And this one ain't the floor.

YESTERDAY'S TRADING

I hope I saved you some money on the Maryland tickets—it was hard to tell how many seats went empty because the network didn't want to show it, but I heard from enough people that offering to not pay was about as good as any other procedure.

Homecoming I had to get in on the ticket exchange early because we had the alumni event. I got offered a free pair after I'd already spent $75 for two from a friend on Facebook, so I offloaded the original two for $20 apiece at Stadium & Main entrance on the way in.

CURRENT RATES

Game	In Aug	In Sept	Now	Dips	Buy?	Reasoning
MSU	$194	$225	$220	$207	NOW!!!	Biggest game in years
@Minnesota	$78	$40	$30	-	at game	Letdown year in Minn
Rutgers	$43	same	$60	nope	Now or later	Last reasonable home game before OSU.
@Indiana	$63	$60	$55	-	wait.	Going down now.
@Penn State	$145	$108	$115	$100	next loss	They play OSU this week so...
Ohio State	$217	$181	$265	$201	NOW!!!	Unless you think they'll lose

The MSU tickets are hopping up to $250 but there are a lot of them still popping up. OSU tickets as well. These are people who see a chance to pay for the difference between the price they paid for a UNLV ticket and what the UNLV ticket was actually worth, but they're not wrong. If you want to test the waters and see if they'll come down closer to gametime, I still suggest buying printable tickets online. A lot of people who usually show up and find a ticket on the way in are going to be jockeying for the few that actually made it to the stadium. Spartans too. With Thanksgiving and the entropy of football threatening The Game, the MSU game will probably wind up the most expensive ticket of the year.

Also it'll be a crisp 48 degrees and sunny. Who would want to sell?

My gophers who investigated the Gophers ticket market were right: as soon as they were dismantled by Northwestern the "Kill-ing It" happy fun times were over, and the home crowd shrank back to the kind-hearted people who get really into punters and bits of broken chair trophies. Penn State I feel I've scouted pretty well too—the tickets will be $100 now or later but you can save $10 or $20 if you catch a firesale after a disappointing loss.

As for the two remaining home games, Rutgers is less of a dog now that Michigan fans awoke to the sooner-than-we-thought "arrival" of the good times, then immediately realized there's only one game that isn't Ohio State or Michigan State. If you buy now you're expecting Michigan to beat Michigan State on Saturday, because if that happens this ticket will keep incrementing upwards.

And then there's The Game. This could be a playoff play-in, or it could be a slaughter if the Buckeyes appear to be back on track and the Harbaugh papering job doesn't keep working. Buying now is a risk but this one's getting volatile as more believers buy in. I'd still wait just because there are soooooo many singles tickets out there. If they start getting gobbled up, make your move. It could be the best game of the year. Or of your life.

CHEAP TIP

Don't do it on the board because we frown upon that, but sometimes a little moping about your ticket situation on Facebook can drum up an invite.

BEST DEAL RIGHT NOW (that I can find on the sponsor's site because let's support people who support us okay?)

If you're gonna shell out, have a good time:

Somebody priced these to move; they're a little high up (Row 96) but in the End Zone that's a good thing. And the marginal difference between them and the other End Zone is worth it to be right next to the student section.

P.S. Said sponsor has an app now in case you're on your phone reading this and don't have microscopic fingertips. If you're using them use the code MGOBLOG and they'll give you 10% off certain listings.