If you’re like me, you missed out on the early feeding frenzy on airline tickets for the Arizona State game. Maybe you weren’t sure if you were going. Maybe your group was dragging its heels making arrangements. Maybe you were betting on the price of oil to crash and send fares plunging. Good luck with that.

Anyway, here you are in mid-June, and fares for non-stop flights are pushing $450 and not budging. You’ve listened to Paul Westerdawg and Kanu and have your social agenda in order and possibly even have tickets taken care of. But you’re still procrastinating about a flight.

AirTran has come through with a flight option that checks in at just over $300. I have to credit my lovely wife with finding this one. She affects the outcome of the Florida game, and she finds good deals to road games. What a catch. Here are the details:

• Outbound: AirTran flight 1940.
  Leaves 8:40 p.m. on Thurs. Sept. 18, arrives 9:45 Phoenix time
• Returning: AirTran flight 1941.
  Leaves 10:40 p.m. on Sun. Sept. 21, arrives 5:17 a.m. Monday morning

Yes, those are some late flights, but they come with some advantages:

• If you’re up for it, a night out in Tempe isn’t out of the question on Thursday. If you’re staying near Tempe, you’ll probably be off the plane and checked in by 11:00.
• You have all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in town. Having Sunday to recover from gameday won’t suck.
• If your work vacation time is tight, these flights give you the option of working Thursday and Monday if you’re reasonably close to Atlanta. I know turning around and going into the office on Monday after a red-eye and a football weekend isn’t the most appealing option in the world, but it’s there if you need it.

Again, those flights check in at just over $300 for the round trip after taxes and fees. I don’t know how long these prices will hold, so jump on it. I doubt you’ll find anything cheaper as we get closer since most of the seats on other flights are already booked. You might be able to do better if you are willing to forgo the non-stop flight, but be cautious of booking with Frontier as the future of the airline is uncertain. If you want to continue to hold out, I second Kanu’s recommendation of kayak.com.

If you’re still looking for a hotel, you might try the Hyatt Place Tempe / Phoenix Airport. It’s no more than two miles from both the airport and Sun Devil Stadium. They also have 42″ flat panels in the rooms which any sports fan should appreciate.