UGA-Notre Dame is the hottest ticket in college football.

There will likely be 70,000 or more people in Athens for tonight’s game — without a ticket.

There’s no doubt about it: With a rare home matchup between elite football programs and a gorgeous weather forecast, it’s going to be an epic and memorable day in Athens.

The Bulldogs will definitely set an all-time record for attendance at Sanford Stadium, thanks to temporary seating installed for the game. The official capacity – normally 92,746 – will increase to 93,246.

As far as the total number of fans in town for the game, UGA officials said the closest comparison would be when the Florida Gators visited the Bulldogs in 1995. There were an estimated 150,000 visitors to Athens, compared to 110,000 for a more typical SEC football game.

Flash forward to tonight’s UGA-Notre Dame game: Many Bulldog fans without tickets likely just want to be in the electrifying environment for ESPN GameDay, a long day of tailgating and sheer curiosity. They’ll watch the game on TV somewhere around town, then rejoin their privileged friends with tickets after the game.

The extra 70,000 people outside of the gate … could be a low estimate.

Some have estimated up to 100,000 people without tickets.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is 8 p.m.