Earlier this summer when the Big Ten released 18,000 seats to be sold to the inaugural championship game in Indianapolis Nebraska fans flooded the phone lines.

The previous two years Husker fans have had to compete with Oklahoma and Texas fans to get seats in Jerry World in Arlington, which put them at a geographical disadvantage because most people in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex supported either the Longhorns or the Sooners.

That's why when the Big Ten released its early wave of tickets this summer Husker fans weren't going to take any chances. Some Nebraska fans even went so far and purchased 20 to 25 luxury suite boxes in Lucas Oil Stadium ranging from $4,000 to $16,000 apiece.

The only problem is Nebraska failed to make the game. Not only did the Huskers fail to make it to Indianapolis, but Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State - the league's "big four" also aren't there.

Without any of these programs in Saturday's championship game the Big Ten could be staring at several thousand empty seats on a prime time national stage.

Michigan State has sold out its allotment of 15,450 seats, but Wisconsin returned 2,000 seats back to the Big Ten. The other remaining seats or either held by Indianapolis Colt season ticket holders or the 18,000 fans that bought tickets this summer.

HuskerOnline.com's ticket partner SeatGeek.com acquires data on ticket numbers from all the major brokers and outlets. SeatGeek.com currently has 7,500 tickets available for Saturday's title game. Here are just a few more numbers SeatGeek.com pulled for Saturday's game in Indianapolis.

***Tickets for the Big Ten Championship Game between the No. 13 Michigan State and No. 15 Wisconsin are averaging prices of $124.

***Average ticket prices were $117 when the two teams met during the regular season on Oct. 22 in East Lansing. The Spartans went on to beat the Badgers 37-31 after scoring a 44-yard touchdown with no time remaining on the clock.

***Tickets for the championship game failed to match the prices of other notable games this season--including games involving each participating team. Tickets to see Michigan State vs. Notre Dame ($230), Michigan State vs. Michigan ($214) and Michigan State vs. Ohio State ($171) all exceeded prevailing prices for Big Ten Championship Game tickets. Wisconsin's meeting with Ohio State ($161) also outpaced current ticket prices for the title game.

***Currently, tickets to the game can be found on SeatGeek for as little as $24 in Section 631 Row 13, while the most expensive listing is priced at $22,440 for a lower level suite.

I also think since neither Wisconsin nor Michigan State is in the national title mix it hurts the game. In the Big 12 or the SEC you almost always had a team playing on championship Saturday trying to advance to the BCS title game. This year's Big Ten title game resembles more of what we've seen from the ACC Championship game that has struggled to sell tickets over the years.

From the Big Ten's perspective, it makes you wonder if there's anything different they could've done to make this a hotter ticket? Would playing this game in Chicago travel more fans because of its geographical location? It's hard to say. I'm sure this will be a talking point at the conference meetings this spring.