Colorado State University Athletics
Ticket sales remain brisk for Rams at Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
12/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Four days before kickoff of the 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, Colorado State has outpaced its ticket sales from last year’s Gildan New Mexico Bowl and expects to distribute well in excess of last year’s approximately 5,000 tickets.
• PURCHASE TICKETS HERE | CSU Bowl Central Page | Las Vegas Bowl Website | Alumni Association Events
Excitement is running high among Rams fans, who acted quickly after the matchup was announced on Dec. 7, quickly selling out flights to Las Vegas and room blocks at the team hotel, The Hard Rock.
The Rams (10-2) will face No. 22 Utah (8-4) of the Pac-12 at 12:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, Dec. 20, at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Colorado State Athletics ticket office reported it had distributed more than 6,000 tickets from its 8,500-ticket allotment, with four days still until kickoff. That figure includes sales of 3,743, comprised of 2,760 to the public, 683 to CSU students and 300 for players’ guests. Also contributing to the total of more than 6,000 tickets distributed is an allotment for military families that were purchased through donations, as well as the marching band, cheer squads, athletics and university staff and families.
Colorado State is seeking to cap one of its most successful football seasons in school history with a victory to match the 1997 team (11-2) as the only two teams in school history to win 11 games. The 2014 Rams are already one of just four teams in school history to win 10 games in a regular season (1994, ’97, ’02). The Rams’ nine-game winning streak, through games 3-11 this season, was the school’s longest since 1997-98.
The Rams’ offense, under the direction of offensive coordinator, now interim head coach, Dave Baldwin ranks No. 3 among all FBS teams in passing efficiency (167.66), No. 5 in third-down conversions (51.2), No. 8 in passing offense (326.3), No. 9 in passing yards per completion (14.77) and No. 12 in total offense (497.8).
Colorado State is the only FBS school with a 3,500-yard passer, 1,500-yard receiver and 1,000-yard rusher.
Defensively, under co-coordinators Marty English and Al Simmons, Colorado State has allowed the fewest points per game (23.4) by a Rams team since 2006 (21.9), a figure that ranks third in the Mountain West (34th nationally).
The Rams are one of just 13 teams in the FBS ranks to place in the top 34 in the nation in both scoring offense (35.9; 21st) and scoring defense (23.4; 34th).
Two Rams players—tackle Ty Sambrailo and quarterback Garrett Grayson—have accepted invitations to participate in the prestigious Reese’s Senior Bowl on Jan. 24, 2015, in Mobile, Ala., while Grayson and cornerback Bernard Blake earned invitations to the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sophomore wide receiver Rashard Higgins was one of the three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award and has already earned first-team All-America nods from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Associated Press, as well as numerous other publications and media organizations. He is on pace to become CSU’s first consensus All-American since Jim Thorpe Award winner and College Football Hall of Fame member Greg Myers in 1995.
Fans may still purchase tickets through the CSU Ticket Office either online, by phone at 800-491-RAMS (7267) or in person at the McGraw Athletic Center ticket windows. Fans can best support CSU Athletics by purchasing their tickets through the Rams ticket office, and purchasing from the official CSU allotment ensures the best seat locations and seating with fellow Rams fans.
