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You may not have tickets to Saturday’s big USC-UCLA football game at the Rose Bowl, but if you’re interested in soaking up some cross-town rivalry or basking in college nostalgia, you’re not necessarily out of luck.

Those who want to listen to bands, watch cheerleaders and haul out the old tailgate brunch can do all that--without tickets--outside the Rose Bowl this Saturday, if they’re willing to mingle with the other 100,000 or so fans who will be sticking around to watch the game, said Rick Purdy, associate athletic director at UCLA.

“For this game, people will probably start arriving about dawn,” Purdy said.

Even if you’re not an alumnus, you can spread out a picnic on the soccer field just south of the Rose Bowl, where UCLA will sponsor a pregame rally at about 9:30 a.m. with music from the school band and some cheerleading performances, Purdy said.

If you’re a USC fan and wouldn’t be caught dead in the UCLA camp, you can always

mingle, hum the fight song and break out the picnic.

“The tailgating is quite a spectacle in itself, what with fans from both schools all wearing the colors,” said Rob Asghar of the USC News Service.

Parking on the Rose Bowl golf course is free; the paved lots are reserved for season ticket holders. But you could also ride a bicycle into the area (and avoid anticipated traffic jams) or park in the Parsons Co. lot at Fair Oaks Ave. and Walnut Boulevard in Old Pasadena and take a free shuttle bus to the Rose Bowl. Dave Casey of Rose Bowl operations said shuttles will begin running at 9:30 a.m.

As of Tuesday, there were still a few game tickets for sale through the UCLA ticket office for $27 each. The tickets belonged to season ticket holders who returned their tickets. “Usually, we’re sold out by now, but this is unusual. It’s probably because we’ve had such a terrible season,” a UCLA ticket operator said. UCLA’s record is 5-5.

The game begins at 12:30 p.m.