Sponsor Note: Thank TicketIQ, our longtime ticket sponsors, and specifically Greg Cohen, who's the reader there who's been like "I am throwing money at you; please write a Ticket Watch." Greg is also throwing money at YOU: Promo code MGO100 is live for $100 off any order of $1,000 or more. If tickets drop under $1,000, we still have MGO50 live. The thing about TicketIQ is the price they say is the price you pay. This makes a big difference for an expensive game like this, because the fees get jacked. Small percentages turn into very large amounts of money quickly. Anyway if you're going to buy a ticket on the secondary market, always try our friends first. Greg even said you can reach out to him personally at Greg@ticketiq.com if you find a better deal on the same seats. ------------------------ A funny thing happened for the Rose Bowl. When I last checked a few hours before the game there were still over 1600 seats available. And they were still--incredibly--priced in the $1400s. The way bowl game economics almost guarantees a shocking price when the market opens, a sharp rise as the people who just decided to go have to get their travel plans in order, and then an exponential downward slope to the finish as the brokers slowly fish for buyers. The Rose Bowl was acting like that, then the prices went UP at the end. And yes, there were still empty seats, reportedly hundreds of them, at the Rose Bowl. Why this happened is an important question because it matters a great deal to how we strategize for the National Championship. Because--oh yes--we are going to the ship. Tag yourself [After THE JUMP: How the system works, and why you're struggling to beat it].