Well, that was always the risk.

When I said the Ohio State tickets were going to stay $250, that was based on my assumption that Ohio State had a gameplan that was in any way related to what Michigan State has looked like this year. While Michael Geiger ran around Columbus like a choo choo, Buckeyes did the same on the secondary market. They’d been buying these up all year, not to mention they got a big allotment to sell. While just about any fanbase would still be happy to follow that team anywhere, Ohio State’s had it too good lately. The suddenly very real possibility that losses happen in football changed the math. The market took a nosedive.

Ralph Garcia from TiqIQ:

Current average price is $255.20—the lowest average price all year. The majority of this drop in price occurred from the 21st to the 25th (AVG price on the 21st was $393.10). Overall, average asking price is down 39% over the past 7 days. Current get-in is $154 for a single seat & $155/each for a pair. The lowest point was 9/8 at $117.

I’ve asked him to stop using average price but that’s a fair approximation of a good seat. Face value for a section 1 (50 yard line) ticket is $125, and remember there was a pretty high licensing fee that the season ticket holders paid. So if you’re trying to get in just anywhere, $150 isn’t a bad deal, nor a bad idea. So far Craigslisters are optimistic—one guy in Detroit has two for $200 each in an upper corner (section 8), the same another guy is asking for Row 19 on the 20 yard line. If you bring that much to the game I have a feeling you’ll be able to find something.

Hit the jump for tips and stuff.

Weather is going to play a role, as it always does. That looks pretty good:

But, uh, don’t tell Aunt Barbara if she’s looking at the slate sky in the morning and wondering if it portends bad things. My advice if you're ticketless is try to get someone by a window today to feel like maybe staying home with the turkey leftovers is a good idea. By tomorrow things could tighten up again; most people know this is one is special, and could be more.

YESTERDAY'S TRADING:

At one point I took a photo of a lone Michigan fan in an upper deck section, but things filled in around him by game time. The outside the game price for Penn State was back to $100 when we went in, which was around 11. Good to know for the future.

CHEAP TIPS I'M UNLOADING BECAUSE THIS IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF GAME

1. If you're going solo, bo_lives is absolutely correct:

I've been buying tickets at the gate for years

and never had a problem getting a decent deal. Best luck I've had is when you catch people as they're heading in along Stadium. These people are usually eager to just get to the game and if you lowball 'em they'll usually cave.

For $25 less than they can probably get at the gate, a season ticket holder may be happy to let his extra ticket go to someone who obviously wouldn't be annoying to sit next to (e.g. a Buckeye fan) and save him the hassle of standing around.

2. If you're going to the game without a ticket, always pull up a TiqIQ or whatever first to gauge the market. The price at the gate is almost always within a few bucks of the listed price online (i.e. without the fees). Also check Tickets by Owner on Craigslist once you get into town; you may be able to work out a pair that you just have to go pick up in Dexter or something.

3. Also make sure you're familiar with the seating chart, ESPECIALLY if you're stuck buying from a scalper. They will try to sell you the worst seats they've got first, so if you're breaking the no-scalper rule at least ask for better seats. This is a good chart to keep on your phone:

That's for determining the zones for seat licenses, and it's good know things like which sections had split pricing. SeatGeek has a zoomable map that shows rows which is hella useful.

4. Screw Scalpers. These guys are just trying to make a living from being really good at the secondary ticket market, and they've been taking a beating. What I mean is they're not bad people, but they're also way better than you at this and they make their margins by screwing guys like you.

You can screw back by approaching someone they're trying to make a deal with. They'll be in full buy mode starting 3 hours before the game, so you can kind of quietly walk behind one, let him do the shouting "anybody selling extra tickets?" and once he's in a negotiation just walk up and say to the buyer "Hey man can I just buy that for a little bit more than he's offering? I just wanna get into the game."

The scalper won't like you for this. Apologize at least; you're hurting his living.

5. Use scalpers if you must. If you're desperate and can't afford to pay full price, the last thing is just be late to the game. Watch the first 5 minutes on some tailgater's TV, then find a dejected scalper and ask if he's still got any left? He'll say $100, you'll say "dude the first quarter's almost over already: $10 bucks" and he'll start walking away and you'll yell "Forty bucks!" and he'll probably turn around.

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

These won't be around in the morning because they have to overnight them to you (that adds $15 to the order). It's the corner end zone, but most of the other corner end zone seats for sale are way high up. Anything past Row 70 or 72 (depending on the section) is going to be UP from the entrance, which feels a bit separated from the great big bowl of people.

I personally don't like any seat below Row 20 for the corners because then you can't see things as well. That's why I avoid those Row 5, section 40 tickets that pop up—you're never getting out of that mess, and you're watching the scoreboard half the game. On the other hand, Eric or Bryan will probably get a good photo of you if there's a fade thrown to that corner.

Row 40 to 60 is the goldilocks zone.