Last week we looked at the attendance for the opening game between Boston College and Northwestern. The use of GroupOn could not off set the fact that it was Labor Day weekend which left many empty seats in Alumni Stadium. The actual numbers were 37,561, which only 8 percent of you guessed in the poll. Weak showing, Boston College.
Now BC is traveling to Orlando to play the UCF Seminole-Knights. Unlike BC, UCF has done a great job packing Bright House Networks Stadium, even with a schedule that includes Conference USA teams like UAB and Southern Methodist. Bright House Stadium holds 45,301 fans, roughly similar to what Alumni Stadium holds. Last season UCF averaged roughly 39,000 fans, which is roughly 87 percent capacity.
In UCF's opening game against Charleston Southern -- one of the dregs of Division I-AA football -- they still kept the bleachers relatively packed. Even with a bad matchup the Bull-Knights were still able to pull in 39,000 fans. I can't even imagine what BC's attendance would be like against a team like Charleston Southern. I can just imagine the entire upper deck being completely empty.
This is a huge game for UCF as this will be one of their two games against BCS teams this season. I know BYU technically isn't but they are a Top 25 team, and could end up at a BCS bowl this year. Gator-Knight fans want to prove to the major conferences that they are no joke, and beating a team like Boston College could go a long way from the rough teams in years past. UCF message boards have been pumping this game up all summer, and I expect BCHS to be rocking on Saturday night.
Historically, UCF averages one BCS level team a year. Last year UCF played against one BCS school at home (N.C. State) and they packed the house with 43,000 fans. In 2009, the Hurricane-Knights packed the house with 48,000 fans against in-state opponents the Miami Hurricanes. Rip on George O'Leary's attendance plan all you want. But give them credit, when there is a solid opponent coming to town, UCF fans pack BCHS.
This all leads me to this week's question: what will be the listed attendance for Saturday's game against UCF? Vote and feel free to discuss the game and the question in the comment sections below.