Most people who tried to find tickets to Auburn’s high-stakes home football games against Georgia and Alabama last November were met with a bleak picture. A few days before kickoff, good seats were scarce, while sellers offering tickets online were asking $1,000 apiece.

But about a month beforehand, ticket records and interviews with Auburn officials show that the school had an entirely different perspective on tickets to the Georgia and Alabama games. It was worried it wouldn’t be able to move them—even seats at face value...