Tickets for the Allstate Sugar Bowl aren't going to be cheap.
The lowest price on SeatGeek.com for the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup between Alabama (12-1) and Ohio State (12-1) start at $329.
Two former quarterbacks are helping change that today. Former Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, who led the Tide to the 1992 national championship, and former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2006, are giving away free ticketsThursday with the help of Allstate.
Barker will be at the Innifree Irish Pub in Tuscaloosa, Ala., today from 5-9 p.m. ET. Smith will be at the O Patio in Columbus, Ohio at the same time. A free ticket will be given away every 45 minutes. Fans have to be in attendance.
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The Sugar Bowl figures to be a sellout with the super-loyal rabid fanbases, and Barker and Smith are doing their part to get their fans in the game. It's worth a shot, right?
"Look at our fanbase, for a team under Saban that wins 90 percent of its game, three national championships, four Heisman finalists ond one Heisman winner," Barker told Sporting News. "This isn't a normal championship run, and it's against a very-good opponent."
Smith, who started in the 2007 BCS championship loss against Florida against then-Gators coach Urban Meyer, said the Buckeyes have been waiting for this chance.
"There's no dobut very iconic matchup," Smith said. "It's arguably two of the best coaches in the game. I'm definitely biased toward my guy Urban Meyer. He's a brought whole different notion of being a Buckeye, and it's taken hold in the Columbus area."
