Only eight free bus vouchers remain for Syracuse University students who want to travel to MetLife Stadium to watch Syracuse play the University of Notre Dame on Saturday night.

Students began lining up outside the Carrier Dome as early as midnight on Monday as temperatures dipped below 50 degrees. There were 200 bus vouchers available to student season ticket holders on Tuesday, and about 130 students were there at 6:45 a.m. when the Carrier Dome Box Office opened.

Students were allowed into the Dome before receiving instructions as to how the tickets would be distributed. Five ticket windows were open in the Carrier Dome Box Office. The first set of students was allowed to go to the ticket windows to claim their vouchers and tickets just before 7 a.m. The box office will reopen Wednesday at 8 a.m. and vouchers are now available to non-student ticket holders.

The game, which pits SU against No. 8 Notre Dame, is being broadcast on ABC as its Saturday night prime-time game. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Otto’s Army President Sean Fernandez said the late kickoff is more of a reason for SU students to go to the game, as SU football doesn’t usually get the chance to play in prime time. However, Fernandez said the fact that it’s a night game and the estimated time of arrival back to Syracuse are possibly reasons why the tickets didn’t immediately sell out.

Students gathered outside of Gate B of the Dome starting around midnight to claim their spot in line. One of the first groups kept an eye out from their dorm to ensure a front spot.

“We’ve been scoping it out since 9 or 10 p.m. from (our floor on Sadler),” said Matthew Deeb, a freshman management and information management and technology dual major. Deeb was accompanied by fellow freshmen Sarah Yelle, a biology major, and Matt Lolarga, a mechanical engineering major.

For some students, a good experience during their first trip to MetLife made them want to go back.

“As a freshman I came out last year and we went down and it was a lot of fun, so I decided to come out and do it again,” said Brent Hiller, an undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Hiller, a New York Giants fan, said he got to the Carrier Dome around 4:50 a.m. and is looking forward to seeing MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and the New York Jets play their home games.

Shannon Walsh, a sophomore psychology and policy studies dual major, walked from South Campus at 4:30 a.m. to get to Gate B. Walsh also went to MetLife last year to see Syracuse play Pennsylvania State University.

“As a freshman, the energy of everyone camping out and waiting for tickets was awesome, so I decided to come again,” she said.

Walsh said coming out early in the morning was worth it, as she had the opportunity to do something she never thought she’d do.

“I grew up a Notre Dame fan, but I’m definitely rooting for ‘Cuse,” she said. “But it will be fun to root against somebody who I never thought I’d root against.”

Nicole Hansen, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major, was also a camper who grew up a Notre Dame fan. Hansen said she will be rooting for Syracuse on Saturday, but is excited to see the Irish play.

The process went smoothly overall except for a minor incident where a student briefly left the line and some other students moved his mattress and belongings. The student eventually found his mattress and belongings one level up by Gate K after he got a voucher and ticket.

The buses to East Rutherford will depart from the Schine Student Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to the game, SU Athletics is hosting New York’s College Team Ultimate Tailgate at the Bud Light Plaza inside the MetLife Stadium gates.

Otto’s Army previously took buses to SU football games at MetLife Stadium in 2012 and 2013, when SU played University of Southern California and Penn State, respectively.

Published on September 24, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306