Demand is heating up for the Sunshine State Showdown. 

USF will take on one of the hottest teams in college football, No. 8 Miami, on Saturday night. It’s the first matchup between the two programs since 2013 and USF’s highest-ranked home opponent since playing No. 4 Florida State in 2012. 

Even a week before the game, students had a historic demand for tickets. 

Within the first 24 hours of availability, 13,179 student tickets were claimed, according to a USF Athletics press release. The tickets went live last Friday. 

All students enrolled at the university are allowed to claim one complimentary ticket as well as discounted guest tickets.

This beat the previous 24-hour record of student tickets claimed, which reached 8,409 against Alabama last season.

Related: USF secures victory over Southern Mississippi 49-24

 Online student ticket claims were capped at 15,000, a total that was surpassed Monday morning. More tickets will be available at the Raymond James Stadium box office on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to an email distributed to students. 

The Bulls boasted 36,694 attendees for their season-opener against Bethune Cookman on Aug. 31, roughly 82% of Raymond James Stadium’s lower bowl capacity of 45,000. On Saturday, it appears that figure is expected to surge. 

The west deck of Raymond James Stadium will be opened, the university announced last Sunday. This is usually only reserved for games with elevated demand.

Opening the west deck increases the stadium capacity to 55,000. The last time an upper deck was opened was for last season’s matchup against Alabama – where the announced attendance was 65,138. 

Senior criminology major Dawson Denslow said he was looking forward to the game this semester knowing how big of a turnout it would draw. 

“After seeing our football team improve after my four years of being a USF student I knew this game was going to be huge,” Denslow said. “I was constantly asking those around me about when the tickets would go live so I could get on it before anything sold out.” 

Related: USF men’s basketball is surging as FAU matchup nears. So is its attendance.

Upper deck ticket pricing ranged from $50-$75 on Ticketmaster as of Tuesday afternoon, while tickets in lower sections were priced as high as $400. 

There is no estimated attendance for Saturday’s game yet, according to a USF Athletics spokesperson. The highest attended Bulls home game was against Florida State in 2012, with an announced attendance of 69,283. 

Graduate student Katherine Patino said she has been attending USF games since 2011. She said she didn’t have any difficulties snagging a ticket. 

“This is an exciting game given the momentum the Bulls have under Golesh,” Patino said. “Win or lose, I know they’ll have some momentum to show how this program is rebuilding.

USF football will take on No. 8 Miami at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and Bulls Unlimited.