DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — The Ohio State marching band won't be performing at the Southern Cal game, but the school will have one of its trumpet players in the stands, and he's willing to swing into action if needed.

Kyle Oliver, a Beavercreek High School graduate, was chagrined to find out the band wouldn't be accompanying the team to Los Angeles because the trip was deemed too expensive.

The 225-member squad did travel for OSU's clash with Texas in 2006, but that was only because a Buckeye booster paid the entire tab, and no philanthropist stepped forward this time.

"He's known all summer the band wasn't going, and it was driving him crazy," said Geoff Oliver, Kyle's father. "This is THE game."

Geoff Oliver, who works at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, delivered some good news to his son last week. A family member in California called to say he had a couple of tickets he couldn't use, and the Olivers quickly lined up a flight, hotel and rental car for the trip west.

"I asked him if he was prepared to march Script Ohio on his own," Geoff Oliver said. "He said he could do it until security catches up with him."

The Olivers are among numerous area residents who will be in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum tonight for one of the most anticipated college football games in years.

Darren Montgomery of Miamisburg is a rabid OSU fan, having played in the marching band along with his future wife, Staci. He purchased his tickets through the OSU alumni association and will be going to the game with his son, Alex, who turns 13 today.

"We've been looking forward to it for so long," Darren Montgomery said. "I haven't missed many Ohio State games in 20 years. I've seen them lose a lot and seen them win a lot. But I always have fun."

Going to such a monumental game has made Alex the envy of his classmates at Wantz Middle School.

"I feel kind of excited and kind of nervous," he said of the trip. "I just really hope the Buckeyes win. I don't really like it when the team loses."

Asked how he became such a Buckeye fan, Alex said: "My parents were both in the marching band, and they taught me to be one."

The ticket broker StubHub has done brisk business this week. The clash between No. 1 USC and No. 5 OSU has become the best-selling regular-season game in the company's eight-year history and third-best overall behind two BCS championships, and about one-quarter of the purchases have been made by Ohioans.

Seats on the 35-yard line were going for $2,500 this week, while some in the upper reaches of the end zone cost as little as $110.

Classic Tickets of Dayton was selling seats on the 50-yard line for $2,000.

Sean Pate of Stubhub isn't surprised by the demand. He said the 10 biggest-selling college games this decade all involved either OSU or USC, and he added, "You don't get a matchup of No. 1 against No. 5 very often."

Kyle Oliver, the trumpeter, is interested in watching the USC band in addition to seeing the game — "I was really impressed when I saw them performing with Fleetwood Mac (in a music video), and I considered going out there," he said — but Geoff Oliver has little on his mind except football.

"I anticipate a lot of energy (at the stadium), and I anticipate I'm going to catch a fair amount of flak from the USC crowd because we'll be decked out in our Buckeye gear, sporting it proudly," he said.