Guess which team is selling out the most and commanding the highest-priced tickets? One would expect it to be Alabama or a Big 10 giant like Ohio State. No, it’s Vanderbilt, which is selling out jampacked stadiums in every game and has tickets priced at $200 at least. On the other hand, an ACC team is finding it hard to fill its stadium’s seats, despite a dominant CFB record.

According to reports, the upcoming Stanford game at the Hard Rock Stadium isn’t drawing swathes of crowds. Owing to that, tickets start at just $6, in a bid to attract crowds. Yes, you heard that right. Just $6 is what it will take for a Hurricanes fan to experience the electric Hard Rock Stadium environment. But it would be even more electric if 9th-ranked Miami were to find it hard to fill seats?

“The get-in price is 33x as expensive (as Vanderbilt) as a ticket to see No. 9 Miami and Stanford at the NFL’s Hard Rock Stadium,” compared Front Office Sports’ IG account. Of course, the dynamics do matter a lot here. Vanderbilt vs. Missouri is a ranked matchup, and both teams are in the top 15.

No wonder Vanderbilt is the “hottest pick” this week for even some neutral fanbases. “Top-10 Vanderbilt is the hottest ticket in college football on TickPick as the Commodores host College GameDay and No. 15 Mizzou,” wrote Front Office Sports’ IG account. On the contrary, Miami vs. Stanford is expected to be a blowout in favor of Miami. Not to mention, Stanford is 3-4 and has lost to teams like BYU, Virginia, and Hawai’i. So, will we see some significant empty seats?

Well, empty seats aren’t a rare occurrence for Miami, notably. Especially ever since the team shifted to the 65,000+ capacity Hard Rock Stadium from the Orange Bowl in 2008. The stadium’s location also complicates things since it’s around 20 miles from the campus in Miami Gardens.

That brings up traffic woes, and coupled with high ticket prices, the average attendance hovers around 50,000 to 52,000. This has even drawn heavy criticism from fans, even in ranked matchups when seats are seen vacant. So, for a game like Stanford, can we expect at least a 50,000-strong crowd?

The possible appearance of backups is expected to keep seats empty

Believe it or not, despite a 3-4 record, Stanford is exceeding expectations this year. For one, before the 2025 season’s start, the program was largely touted as a doormat finish, not even with a bowl game. But Frank Reich has done a decent job ever since becoming the interim head coach for the program after the tumultuous Troy Taylor era. So, beating FSU in the last game earns widespread brownie points for Reich. Similarly, performing well against San Jose State and Boston College keeps bowl game hopes alive. But giving Miami a tough outing will still be a big ask.

“Stanford has plenty of wind in its sails as it heads to South Beach, where Miami is waiting as 30.5-point favorites. And while Stanford will look at this game like its very own Super Bowl, it is a classic lookahead spot for the Hurricanes. Miami knows that it can beat Stanford without getting out of first gear, and they may opt to stay there in order to be fresh for what’s to come on the other side of this weekend,” wrote Michael Leboff of the NY Post about Stanford’s possibility.

Many regular starters will not play in the game, as they are being rested for the SMU game, and some of Miami’s backups are expected to take their place. Fans who are accustomed to seeing Keelan Marion and CJ Daniels handling receiver duties may be surprised. They may instead see freshman Joshua Moore and Daylyn Upshaw finally showing their prowess.

But why would fans commute 20 miles to see backups, already knowing Miami will cruise past Stanford easily, right? So, expect some thousand-odd empty seats at the Hard Rock Stadium. That said, we may also see the pricing at just $6 change fans’ minds and keep the stadium jam-packed.