The Rose Bowl is the oldest of the bowl games and arguably the most prestigious game outside of the National Championship Game, but despite those facts, it may not sell out this year. Many are wondering if the fact that the Rose Bowl is part of the college football playoff instead of its own destination game may be hurting its appeal.

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According to CBS Sports, Florida State returned over 2,000 of its allotted tickets, and there were more than 5,000 tickets still available on StubHub earlier this week, many of which were being offered for less than face value. The game is expected to sell out, but the easy availability of tickets is concerning to some.

Oregon coach Mark Helfrich still thinks the game has all of the same tradition to offer.

"It's the granddaddy of them all. Waking up on New Year's Day, having the Rose Parade and in the early to mid-afternoon hours having the Rose Bowl. Dick Enberg, Keith Jackson, usually a sun-filled stadium," he said. "Those visions, those sounds are incredibly special and unique to this game."

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Some of the reason for the lower-than-expected attendance is probably due to the fact that fans of both Oregon and Florida State may have elected to forgo attending the Rose Bowl in order to purchase tickets to the championship game in Dallas in the hopes that their school advances.

"Whenever you have a team that has to travel halfway across the country for a game that is not a championship game, then you're probably going to have a little bit of an issue," said FSU deputy athletic director Karl Hicks. "I'm not sitting in the Rose Bowl's seat. I used to run the ACC basketball tournament. Where the tournament might be you hope there is enough chatter in the local market."