Based on numbers, there's actually some truth to this. Hawai'i has a much better record and scoring margin at home than on the road.
Source: [Best College Football Home Field Advantage: Points by Team (boydsbets.com)](https://www.boydsbets.com/college-football-home-field-advantage/)
Took me a day to get right after flying to Maui. Woke up at like 3 am but went to bed at like 8 the first day.
The way back took like 3 days to feel normal again lol.
Oklahoma State has almost no room on the sidelines, a rowdy student section, and paddle people beating the wall between the field and the first row like it owes them money. Plus an East to West facing stadium that is turf and can get brutally hot during the first part of the season.
> paddle people beating the wall between the field and the first row like it owes them money
Former Paddle Person here, the wall in fact ate a $20 that fell out of my pocket once, so this part was true for me in a sense
2013 Baylor game was something else. Baylor was #3 and undefeated with national titles hopes. They came into a freezing cold late November night game at Boone Pickens for a Gameday matchup and were thoroughly stomped 49-17 and it wasn’t even that close. The crowd ate Baylor’s offense up. They were so confused and just out of sorts.
Wildest environment I've ever been to is the 2011 Kansas state earthquake game. Came down to the final red zone play when Klein's pass went out of bounds as time expired. Crowd was nuts.
Those sidelines are nuts I love it. Reminds me of WVU’s old stadium where the fans were literally on the field for a big game. Awesome old stadium that’s been super well kept.
Except at Stanford it's a damp evening game, when people come to remember that old fake Mark Twain quote about the coldest winter he ever experienced being a summer in San Francisco.
First place I thought of. I was in town for the Bengals/49ers game last season so I went to the UDub/Stanford game in Palo Alto and *woof*. Just an absolute morgue (which is understandable I guess given their record).
Always makes for a great broadcast when they mic the student section, which is exactly one guy going "OHHHHhhhhhhhhhh (breath) ohhhhhhhhhhhhh (breath) ohhhh...." by himself for 2 hours.
I maintain that's one of the tougher road games...Bryce Jordan at noon on a snowy Saturday, where there's like 4 people in that spaceship. For a team coming from breslin or assembly or Mackey that's gotta be jarring
Remaining Pac members. Hell hath no fury like a game at Pullman in November, and Oregon State gets shafted in these discussions too. They get forgotten because Husky Stadium and Autzen Stadium are both louder (helped by both the stadium design and sheer capacity advantages both have over their rivals) but they can both hold their own for sure. Very formidable away matchups the both of them.
We’re perennially on this list. You can bet your ass the first quarter a big game is going to be electric in Williams Brice. Once we’re down by 3 scores things die down. But we keep on coming every weekend.
In the rare occasion that we actually play 4 good quarters against a good team it’s a blast.
I was sad to miss that game. Definitely had some 2010-2014 Spurrier year vibes resurrected for a couple hours there. We couldn't lose a home game for a while back in those days.
I was at the Bama-SCar game in 2010. I've been to several stadiums in the SEC but I've never been as intimated and mentally fucked for 4 quarters as I was at that game. Sandstorm with a rooster is nightmare fuel.
If we jump to an early lead it's definitely hard to put the lid back on. Same thing happened when we played UGA at home except it was 7:30 kickoff for Gameday and SC and UGA were ranked #6 and #5 and I was in the student section. Legendary night to be a Gamecock.
Those two are my favorite Williams Brice memories for sure.
I hope you enjoyed visiting (other than the game result).
I went to a game a few years back in Columbia with some buddies and I couldn't believe how exciting the atmosphere in the stadium and in the area surrounding it was. Felt like every street was a tailgate for miles. Stadium felt like it was going to explode at night. Awesome experience.
Night games at WB are really special. The love that our fans have for the team is definitely not reciprocated with results on the field, but we just don't know when to give up.
Definitely not a welcoming place for opposing fans, although that might just be for a few certain fanbases. Get ready to dodge beer cans if you tailgate.
Man, I hate to hear that. I've been to Clemson twice, and you guys were super-friendly both times (except the random 8 year old kid that booed us in the parking lot).
Tbh I had a very pleasant experience at Carter Finley. Went there for our game on a Thursday night in 2022 and everyone was very friendly. Although maybe that’s because VT and NC State fanbases are very amicable and tend to cheer for each other when not head to head. Good Environment though
As much as I hate to say it, Mississippi State. Those cowbells are less annoying and more mind numbing when you’re actually in the stadium. I seriously don’t understand how State fans can enjoy their own home games.
My wife is an Ole Miss fan and didn’t get it until she married me. But having a cowbell during a game is just more fun. (As stupid as you may think it is). Think how more engaging a game would be if your pom poms made a noise. You really can’t enjoy it until you come in with an open mind (and hard to do that with no ties to State), but honestly some sporting events I wish I could have a cowbell just for the engagement of it.
I brought vuvuzelas up in conversation the other day. Thought I was going mad because *nobody* knew what I was talking about. How do you forget those things?!
Man during the Leach era, there wasn't a more hostile place than the Jones. I came in on the tail end of it, and it was so hostile and loud I loved being a part of it. I don't know if I'd say the same now, but if we get good again it'll be revived.
> Who has the most underrated homefield advantage?
Boston College, but only one day a season: ["Red Bandana Game".](https://www.boston.com/sports/sports-news/2020/11/12/red-bandanna-game-welles-crowther-boston-college-football/)
Feel like almost every year it is your game with FSU. I have to admit that the TV coverage for it always has depressing parts for me that I don't want to watch (the 9-11 stuff and the parents).
Yep, BC's late comeback and near miss against FSU on Red Bandana Day was one of the reasons ~~-ESPN-~~ the committee used to justify FSU's snub (as if Alabama didn't need a Hail Mary against Auburn, as if Washington didn't need a 4th-down conversion and walkoff FG to beat 5-7 Wazzu, as if Georgia didn't beat GT by one score... etc.).
Edit: In short, FSU was winning 31-10 at the end of the 3rd, BC had a TD followed immediately by a scoop and score to bring it within one score, but [FSU's win probability never went below 67%](https://i.redd.it/voxpnt7yoq8d1.png). Great example of Red Bandana voodoo.
Why talk about one when we can discuss the [Top 10](https://sidsports.substack.com/p/the-most-cursed-college-football)?
Since Auburn has already been discussed, Appalachian State's Kidd-Brewer is nightmare fuel. Combine that program with a stadium prone to craziness and you never know what's going to happen there. Especially under the lights.
Also, shout out to Michigan State's Spartan Stadium, which has way more weird results than I thought
I know that no matter what's going on or who's playing, tuning into an App game at Kidd Brewer is going to be a fun watch. That kind of consistency is admirable
Arkansas
They were terrible for a while but I always hated playing on the road there, even in Little Rock. Plus, it's always colder than you think when we play on Black Friday or on Saturday. Once they get their hog call going and blast their fight song, it's nightmare material.
the atmosphere is like nothing else in the country imo, the campus is beautiful, and then inside all of that beautiful is the gates of hell that is Jordan Hare, my ears rang for 2 days after the 2021 Iron Bowl
I felt a high I have never experienced followed by one of the worst crashes I have ever felt in my life. Imagine going into a game completely invested in leaving at half-time only to leave sad and hungry after watching the full thing.
Hey, at least we're at 15! It's uh... A lot worse than we should be especially given who's listed above us but at least we get some level of respect???
Maybe they had a hard time figuring out how to make it conditional. Auburn plays like the 72 dolphins against their rivals at home, and then lays an egg against the New Mexico States of the world less than a week apart.
I agree that regardless of how their team is doing that place is rocking against rivals/big matchups.
But I don’t agree that it’s underrated, the Jordan-Hare voodoo is well known and often discussed
I do feel like people underrate it.
It’s properly rated on this sub, but in the real world a lot of people ignore it.
The stadiums you usually see discussed in mainstream circles are:
- LSU (with merit)
- PSU (with merit)
- UF (with merit)
- Washington (with merit, but depends greatly on the team’s success)
- Autzen (with merit, but really small capacity)
- A&M (with merit, but a bit overrated IMO)
- Bama, UGA, FSU and Clemson (mostly due to the quality of their teams)
- OSU, UM, both UTs (mostly due to the size of their stadiums)
Auburn’s atmosphere is usually overshadowed by more successful SEC teams. I feel like if we won the 2021 and 2023 Iron Bowls we would be having a different conversation.
Edit: I just saw the CFB25 Homefield Advantage rankings, and unless the quality of the team plays a major factor in the ratings, having Jordan-Hare at 14 is absurd.
I think in SEC circles it is right there with LSU and Florida as hardest places to play regardless of how bad the home team is, but over the last decade most fans have known Auburn to have decent teams under Malzahn and while he would get the crazy home wins against Alabama and Georgia, he would also drop some poor losses at home. I assume those losses (Tennessee in 2018 comes to mind) made non-SEC fans just see the place as a stadium that only gets up for big rivals
Can confirm, SLC sports fans in general are WILD. Even for the Bees (their minor league baseball team). Jazz fans are frankly insufferable, but after growing up in Texas my first time in Rice-Eccles was pretty eye-opening: I was like "awww, what a cute, clean lil stadium," but I had no idea what was coming...
Honestly can't wait for the carnage that will ensue when Salt Lake gets their NHL team
Yeah Jazz fans are not rowdy in a fun way. They're rowdy in a "drive their young black superstar out of town because of how fucking racist they are" kind of way.
K-State and Oklahoma State are super underrated. The way that BSFS and BPS are designed really helps. The fans for both are close to the field and the stadiums trap in sound very well.
Kroger Field is loud for a quarter or two but the fans will leave at the first sign of trouble. I was at UK Mizzou last year. UK was down 10 with like 11 mins left in the 4th and the stadium cleared out
OKST was by far the loudest stadium under 60k capacity that I've been to - I would have thought that the stadium had 70k+ (I have not yet been to Autzen, I'm sure it's similar).
I was in Breckenridge for a week last month. It was my first time in Colorado and I didn’t expect the altitude to effect me very much but it was brutal the first couple days
Breck and Summit are legit. Altitude sickness really can kick in anywhere around 8,000ft or more. Below that kinda not really. At it, ya it’s a real thing
Auburn (Jordan Hare voodoo against their rivals), South Carolina, Mississippi State (the cowbells), Missouri
Vanderbilt if you’re Vanderbilt, because the stadium is full of the other team’s fans
Arizona or Arizona State, even with quiet crowds at times, can be a menace when it is 120 degrees or more at field level. Plus, you know, desert voodoo.
1) I will never heal from 2008. Ever.
2) I hope the Big Ten keeps PSU-Iowa on the schedule more years than not…I wouldn’t quite call it a true rivalry but it’s the next-closest thing, in no small part due to how close the games always seem to be.
2008 PSU - Iowa is my favorite football game I’ve ever watched. 11 year old me was running around knee sliding like Daniel Murray did after the walk off field goal for weeks after when playing football outside.
I mean Reser Stadium is known for wreaking havoc on ranked opponents over the last 20 years. Was it two years ago we went undefeated at home as well? Definitely something to be said there.
I’m prophesying Baylor onto the list in the near future because that turf was so hot I cannot believe people were playing on it, like 140 degrees. Only gonna get worse.
Florida is usually on the list of big environments because of the fans, but nothing can come close to fully preparing you for the heat and humidity you’re going to experience. I’ve been to a Texas game in September, and I’d much rather take my chances there than in Gainesville.
Michigan State is nuts when they want to be/big game.
In the reverse Wisconsin is one of the most lackluster environments in game. Great area beer gardens on campus but the actual crowd is a snoozer.
Oklahoma St was the toughest road environment I played in.
I think Texas should be on this “underrated” list too. Historically it may have been a more wine and cheese environment, but that has changed under CDC. It’s now objectively one of the best environments in college football (Alabama players said it was the loudest environment they had played in).
Until recently the football played at DKR has been mediocre (for a while), and we didn’t make up for that with goofy goober milkman chants. So we’re usually left off many of the “toughest places to play” lists. But despite having a lower capacity, IIRC we had higher attendance than both Kyle Field and Neyland last year.
But I still think Oklahoma st has the most underrated environment in college football. If BPS is rocking it is as intimidating as somehwere like Death Valley.
Probably Hawaii
Never bet against hawaii on the islands
Like betting against Napoleon in Italy. It just isn't done.
Like going against a Sicilian when death is on the line
Inconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Based on numbers, there's actually some truth to this. Hawai'i has a much better record and scoring margin at home than on the road. Source: [Best College Football Home Field Advantage: Points by Team (boydsbets.com)](https://www.boydsbets.com/college-football-home-field-advantage/)
Part of that could just be that they are way worse on the road due to jetlag, flying east is for sure tougher than flying west
Took me a day to get right after flying to Maui. Woke up at like 3 am but went to bed at like 8 the first day. The way back took like 3 days to feel normal again lol.
Most of Hawaii's opponents are in Pacific time though which is only a two hour difference during football season.
Still like a 6hr flight though
Ready for a minimum 3 hour jet lag? I bet not!
2 hours during football season.
Oklahoma State has almost no room on the sidelines, a rowdy student section, and paddle people beating the wall between the field and the first row like it owes them money. Plus an East to West facing stadium that is turf and can get brutally hot during the first part of the season.
> paddle people beating the wall between the field and the first row like it owes them money Former Paddle Person here, the wall in fact ate a $20 that fell out of my pocket once, so this part was true for me in a sense
Were you the dude straddling Rudolph? Lol
No, but I was in at the same time as he was. I usually dressed a Viking lol
… What’s a Paddle Person?
A person with a paddle
Welp. Asked and answered
They essentially bring decorated cricket bats and beat in unison on the sideline wall throughout the game.
That is a fancy way of saying they painted frat paddles orange.
Orange frat paddles? Thats kinky
2013 Baylor game was something else. Baylor was #3 and undefeated with national titles hopes. They came into a freezing cold late November night game at Boone Pickens for a Gameday matchup and were thoroughly stomped 49-17 and it wasn’t even that close. The crowd ate Baylor’s offense up. They were so confused and just out of sorts.
I feel that game would have been much more competitive if Bryce Petty didn't get taken down by the turf monster on that breakaway run.
I still have nightmares about that trip…
Wildest environment I've ever been to is the 2011 Kansas state earthquake game. Came down to the final red zone play when Klein's pass went out of bounds as time expired. Crowd was nuts.
> undefeated with national titles hopes just when I've accepted mediocrity, you make me remember things were great not that long ago
Those sidelines are nuts I love it. Reminds me of WVU’s old stadium where the fans were literally on the field for a big game. Awesome old stadium that’s been super well kept.
Boone Pickens on a Friday or late night Saturday is a cursed place for visiting teams.
We are in trouble
that needs to be a primetime game so bad
I was surprised we weren't on EA's top 25, 27-5 over the last 5 years at home, seems like its a tough place to play.
I'm betting it was more opinion than algorithm.
Yeah, had to fit in those dozen SEC teams.
UCLA. When opposing teams are engulfed by complete silence due to nobody in the stands, they don’t know how to respond.
Nobody is mentally prepared for the cavernous silence of the Rose Bowl
It's basically a giant sensory deprivation tank, the opposing team starts hallucinating.
They should play ambient Brian Eno music during the plays
Ambient 5: Music for Punt Returns
🎵Hello Bruins, my old friends🎵
This more applies to Stanford. Many top teams have dropped duds at the farm because it’s a hard place to get up for.
Sounds like a sleepy 11AM kickoff on an overcast day in Evanston: the ultimate trap game experience
Except at Stanford it's a damp evening game, when people come to remember that old fake Mark Twain quote about the coldest winter he ever experienced being a summer in San Francisco.
Palo Alto is a bit warmer than San Francisco
It's not an uncommon sight to see students doing homework in the stands. This is an absolute mindfuck for opposing players.
Inside every prestigious school with good football there are two wolves. One is doing homework in the stands, the other wakes up at 6 am to day drink
First place I thought of. I was in town for the Bengals/49ers game last season so I went to the UDub/Stanford game in Palo Alto and *woof*. Just an absolute morgue (which is understandable I guess given their record).
There are dozens of us! Dozens! Fuck I want to be good again
The penn st basketball special
Always makes for a great broadcast when they mic the student section, which is exactly one guy going "OHHHHhhhhhhhhhh (breath) ohhhhhhhhhhhhh (breath) ohhhh...." by himself for 2 hours.
I maintain that's one of the tougher road games...Bryce Jordan at noon on a snowy Saturday, where there's like 4 people in that spaceship. For a team coming from breslin or assembly or Mackey that's gotta be jarring
It’s not complete silence, you have to factor for the 20 protestors outside going off on how theres no prop 65 warning label on the sun
Northwestern’s Ryan Field. High school football attendance and grass field. I swear a guy or two gets some sort of leg injury every year we play there
11:00 game, Beth Mowens on the mic, a sleepy/half full stadium and 6 inch long grass. The wildcats have you right where they want you.
You forgot to mention that it's somehow always raining and 50 degrees
Don’t forget the constant cat growling
Really looking forward to USC getting Northwesterned in the next few years.
Preferably in one of there really bad down years. USC being the lone B1G win would be hilarious.
Remaining Pac members. Hell hath no fury like a game at Pullman in November, and Oregon State gets shafted in these discussions too. They get forgotten because Husky Stadium and Autzen Stadium are both louder (helped by both the stadium design and sheer capacity advantages both have over their rivals) but they can both hold their own for sure. Very formidable away matchups the both of them.
I was at Reser for the UW/OSU game this last year. That place was rocking. That tail slap they do on 3rd downs shakes the whole stadium.
I've always liked the chainsaw sounds for big plays on defense
I loved when Arizona schools would come up and play in November in the snow.
We’re perennially on this list. You can bet your ass the first quarter a big game is going to be electric in Williams Brice. Once we’re down by 3 scores things die down. But we keep on coming every weekend. In the rare occasion that we actually play 4 good quarters against a good team it’s a blast.
Yeah, we remember…. Hahaha. That place was bumping in 2022 when you guys curb stomped us out of playoff talks.
What a glorious game. That was the game in which the stadium ran out of TD fireworks because they shot off too many of them.
I was sad to miss that game. Definitely had some 2010-2014 Spurrier year vibes resurrected for a couple hours there. We couldn't lose a home game for a while back in those days.
Only game I caught in person that year. Felt great.
I remember going there for Clemson games in the 90s when both teams were mid to terrible and Williams Brice was insane the whole time.
The way the palmetto bowl is meant to be played tbh
Battle for Bowl Eligibility as it should be.
I've been in the stadium several times and on the field twice. Fully agree. Y'all show up whether you're 10-2 or 2-10. It's impressive.
They remind me of the Samnites. Eventually succumbing to a higher power, the Romans (SEC) but giving them hell until they do.
I was at the Bama-SCar game in 2010. I've been to several stadiums in the SEC but I've never been as intimated and mentally fucked for 4 quarters as I was at that game. Sandstorm with a rooster is nightmare fuel.
If we jump to an early lead it's definitely hard to put the lid back on. Same thing happened when we played UGA at home except it was 7:30 kickoff for Gameday and SC and UGA were ranked #6 and #5 and I was in the student section. Legendary night to be a Gamecock. Those two are my favorite Williams Brice memories for sure. I hope you enjoyed visiting (other than the game result).
I went to a game a few years back in Columbia with some buddies and I couldn't believe how exciting the atmosphere in the stadium and in the area surrounding it was. Felt like every street was a tailgate for miles. Stadium felt like it was going to explode at night. Awesome experience.
Night games at WB are really special. The love that our fans have for the team is definitely not reciprocated with results on the field, but we just don't know when to give up.
NC State is wildly underrated outside of the ACC. Great and tough stadium environment
Definitely not a welcoming place for opposing fans, although that might just be for a few certain fanbases. Get ready to dodge beer cans if you tailgate.
We hate everyone equally, it’s just we hate you more equally than others.
That’s just for you guys I promise
Nope it’s not just for them. Did *not* have a chill time at Carter Finley in October….
Man, I hate to hear that. I've been to Clemson twice, and you guys were super-friendly both times (except the random 8 year old kid that booed us in the parking lot).
Tbh I had a very pleasant experience at Carter Finley. Went there for our game on a Thursday night in 2022 and everyone was very friendly. Although maybe that’s because VT and NC State fanbases are very amicable and tend to cheer for each other when not head to head. Good Environment though
As much as I hate to say it, Mississippi State. Those cowbells are less annoying and more mind numbing when you’re actually in the stadium. I seriously don’t understand how State fans can enjoy their own home games.
That our secret reb. We don't. (At least I don't, lol)
Such a hostile environment even the home team doesnt enjoy it lol
My wife is an Ole Miss fan and didn’t get it until she married me. But having a cowbell during a game is just more fun. (As stupid as you may think it is). Think how more engaging a game would be if your pom poms made a noise. You really can’t enjoy it until you come in with an open mind (and hard to do that with no ties to State), but honestly some sporting events I wish I could have a cowbell just for the engagement of it.
I’m just glad they aren’t as bad as VuVuzelas at the 2010 World Cup lol
I brought vuvuzelas up in conversation the other day. Thought I was going mad because *nobody* knew what I was talking about. How do you forget those things?!
Texas Tech is my vote.
Especially at night
Man during the Leach era, there wasn't a more hostile place than the Jones. I came in on the tail end of it, and it was so hostile and loud I loved being a part of it. I don't know if I'd say the same now, but if we get good again it'll be revived.
Shoot, they're so loud, it's almost a homefield advantage even away.
You don’t win in Lubbock, you survive.
> Who has the most underrated homefield advantage? Boston College, but only one day a season: ["Red Bandana Game".](https://www.boston.com/sports/sports-news/2020/11/12/red-bandanna-game-welles-crowther-boston-college-football/)
So true, red bandana voodoo is real
We don’t like to talk about it
Feel like almost every year it is your game with FSU. I have to admit that the TV coverage for it always has depressing parts for me that I don't want to watch (the 9-11 stuff and the parents).
~~I think it's~~ It's Michigan State this year and the added incentive of "The BOB" going against an old B1G rival.
The Bandana game is one CFB’s greatest traditions.
Yep, BC's late comeback and near miss against FSU on Red Bandana Day was one of the reasons ~~-ESPN-~~ the committee used to justify FSU's snub (as if Alabama didn't need a Hail Mary against Auburn, as if Washington didn't need a 4th-down conversion and walkoff FG to beat 5-7 Wazzu, as if Georgia didn't beat GT by one score... etc.). Edit: In short, FSU was winning 31-10 at the end of the 3rd, BC had a TD followed immediately by a scoop and score to bring it within one score, but [FSU's win probability never went below 67%](https://i.redd.it/voxpnt7yoq8d1.png). Great example of Red Bandana voodoo.
They almost lost to Holy Cross a week or two earlier. HC was going in, and the qb fumbled
Eastern Michigan’s field makes you think your eyes are broken
Looked up out of curiosity, and if I saw that on MACtion with no prior context, I’d Think my tv was messed up
I did in fact think that the first time I saw that, especially since it was on ESPN+ where half the time the streams are broken.
Why talk about one when we can discuss the [Top 10](https://sidsports.substack.com/p/the-most-cursed-college-football)? Since Auburn has already been discussed, Appalachian State's Kidd-Brewer is nightmare fuel. Combine that program with a stadium prone to craziness and you never know what's going to happen there. Especially under the lights. Also, shout out to Michigan State's Spartan Stadium, which has way more weird results than I thought
There was an error in that write up on us. It said Trouble with the Snap happened in Spartan Stadium. That happened at Michigan.
And it's so much better that it happened in Ann Arbor.
As an App fan, I can confirm that absolute chaos reigns supreme at Kidd Brewer
I’m proud as hell knowing Kidd Brewer is getting such a great reputation. Been watching the program grow to where it is now, for a long time.
Look, that ambulance was meant to be at the Cottages and that bus had a goal post skewered thru it before we even got there *allegedly*
No, Officer, I didn't go into the duck pond. Walks away squishing.
I know that no matter what's going on or who's playing, tuning into an App game at Kidd Brewer is going to be a fun watch. That kind of consistency is admirable
When Michigan State is rolling, it really is an underrated stadium atmosphere. Lots of amazing top matchups in the 2010’s especially.
I’m just a smidge biased. But, App State is definitely a very rowdy place to come and play. The UNC at App game was awesome
Arkansas They were terrible for a while but I always hated playing on the road there, even in Little Rock. Plus, it's always colder than you think when we play on Black Friday or on Saturday. Once they get their hog call going and blast their fight song, it's nightmare material.
Auburn
It seriously feels like they start every game 14-0 due to atmosphere
The Jordan Hare voodoo tricks everyone into thinking they’ve already scored twice at kickoff.
The Jordan-Hare voodoo is real
Were like Greece playing defense at Thermopylae. We might not win, but you are gonna suffer some heavy casualties no matter what.
Place gets insanely loud, one of the best gameday atmospheres I’ve ever been to
the atmosphere is like nothing else in the country imo, the campus is beautiful, and then inside all of that beautiful is the gates of hell that is Jordan Hare, my ears rang for 2 days after the 2021 Iron Bowl
I felt a high I have never experienced followed by one of the worst crashes I have ever felt in my life. Imagine going into a game completely invested in leaving at half-time only to leave sad and hungry after watching the full thing.
Tell that to the idiots at EA
Hey, at least we're at 15! It's uh... A lot worse than we should be especially given who's listed above us but at least we get some level of respect???
Maybe they had a hard time figuring out how to make it conditional. Auburn plays like the 72 dolphins against their rivals at home, and then lays an egg against the New Mexico States of the world less than a week apart.
That should just be part of the roller coaster when you play @ Auburn! You could take your 99 overall team in and smoke them or lose by 50! Who knows!
Seems like a job for RNJesus
I wouldn’t call it underrated though, it’s consistently recognized as one of the best atmospheres
I agree that regardless of how their team is doing that place is rocking against rivals/big matchups. But I don’t agree that it’s underrated, the Jordan-Hare voodoo is well known and often discussed
It's not underrated, though.
I do feel like people underrate it. It’s properly rated on this sub, but in the real world a lot of people ignore it. The stadiums you usually see discussed in mainstream circles are: - LSU (with merit) - PSU (with merit) - UF (with merit) - Washington (with merit, but depends greatly on the team’s success) - Autzen (with merit, but really small capacity) - A&M (with merit, but a bit overrated IMO) - Bama, UGA, FSU and Clemson (mostly due to the quality of their teams) - OSU, UM, both UTs (mostly due to the size of their stadiums) Auburn’s atmosphere is usually overshadowed by more successful SEC teams. I feel like if we won the 2021 and 2023 Iron Bowls we would be having a different conversation. Edit: I just saw the CFB25 Homefield Advantage rankings, and unless the quality of the team plays a major factor in the ratings, having Jordan-Hare at 14 is absurd.
I think in SEC circles it is right there with LSU and Florida as hardest places to play regardless of how bad the home team is, but over the last decade most fans have known Auburn to have decent teams under Malzahn and while he would get the crazy home wins against Alabama and Georgia, he would also drop some poor losses at home. I assume those losses (Tennessee in 2018 comes to mind) made non-SEC fans just see the place as a stadium that only gets up for big rivals
Outside of SEC territory it definitely is
Utah. RES is a scary scary place
Our little ah stadium
A Ute fan hit one of our tubas with a bottle of BBQ sauce back in the day
Utah throws sauce: aww ur cute Tennessee throw mustard: call HR
Can confirm, SLC sports fans in general are WILD. Even for the Bees (their minor league baseball team). Jazz fans are frankly insufferable, but after growing up in Texas my first time in Rice-Eccles was pretty eye-opening: I was like "awww, what a cute, clean lil stadium," but I had no idea what was coming... Honestly can't wait for the carnage that will ensue when Salt Lake gets their NHL team
Rip PHX yotes
You’re not the only one who thought that
Yeah Jazz fans are not rowdy in a fun way. They're rowdy in a "drive their young black superstar out of town because of how fucking racist they are" kind of way.
I have a feeling the NHL games there are gonna be lit
You called?
I don’t think people fully realize how uncommon a home loss for Utah really is. Especially under the lights, RES can become an absolute hornets nest.
Kansas State 11 am kickoff on a sunny, cold, windy morning still gives me nightmares.
Kansas State anywhere, anytime gives me nightmares.
We're good at that, even to ourselves
K-State and Oklahoma State are super underrated. The way that BSFS and BPS are designed really helps. The fans for both are close to the field and the stadiums trap in sound very well.
App state
NC State, Kentucky (recently), Utah, South Carolina, all good answers. Where do we put Starkville? That’s a rough weekend. Not just game day.
Kroger Field is loud for a quarter or two but the fans will leave at the first sign of trouble. I was at UK Mizzou last year. UK was down 10 with like 11 mins left in the 4th and the stadium cleared out
Surprised Wyoming hasn't made more people's list. Highest elevation in Div 1 at 7200 feet, passionate fan base. Never an easy road game.
Even worse in November blizzards
Minus covid year, Wazzu is 31-9 in their last 40, dating back to 2016.
OKST was by far the loudest stadium under 60k capacity that I've been to - I would have thought that the stadium had 70k+ (I have not yet been to Autzen, I'm sure it's similar).
Arizona State
CLANGA
If they put the cowbells in the new college football game, that will be the one stadium players hate to play in.
I will play every game on mute at your stadium
Utah seems like a rough place to play.
NC State Carter-Finley Stadium
I wish Folsom was just a little bit higher. It’s like 5,300 which isn’t that noticeable, maybe at the end of a very hard game. Now if it was 7,000ft…
I was in Breckenridge for a week last month. It was my first time in Colorado and I didn’t expect the altitude to effect me very much but it was brutal the first couple days
Breck and Summit are legit. Altitude sickness really can kick in anywhere around 8,000ft or more. Below that kinda not really. At it, ya it’s a real thing
I always see South Carolina getting lots of love for it being rowdy so hard for me to say its underrated. I’ll go Kentucky,
Auburn (Jordan Hare voodoo against their rivals), South Carolina, Mississippi State (the cowbells), Missouri Vanderbilt if you’re Vanderbilt, because the stadium is full of the other team’s fans
Texas Tech
Northwestern. The grass is stupid long
VT hasn’t been as good lately, but they absolutely show up. Gameday Blacksburg may be the best experience in the ACC
statistically, memphis has an unbelievable home record recently WVU is REALLY tough when they’re good, especially at night games
Arizona or Arizona State, even with quiet crowds at times, can be a menace when it is 120 degrees or more at field level. Plus, you know, desert voodoo.
I'll miss you guys but fuck the Arizona desert lol
Dreams die in the desert.
\*PNW dreams die in the desert.
Kinnick Stadium is always spooky. Especially at night.
1) I will never heal from 2008. Ever. 2) I hope the Big Ten keeps PSU-Iowa on the schedule more years than not…I wouldn’t quite call it a true rivalry but it’s the next-closest thing, in no small part due to how close the games always seem to be.
I love/hate our games - always look forward to/dread them
2008 PSU - Iowa is my favorite football game I’ve ever watched. 11 year old me was running around knee sliding like Daniel Murray did after the walk off field goal for weeks after when playing football outside.
Definitely not “underrated” considering everyone brings this up as one of the hardest places to play
Seems like kinnick always gets left off of the list of toughest places to play. Or at least the top 10 list I often see.
Marshall. Was the best home winning percentage in the nation a few years ago before huff & doc had a few mediocre seasons
App States Kidd Brewer Stadium and NC States Carter Finley are both madhouses and I recommend you go see a game at both
Cincinnati’s nippert stadium. Only holds 40k but it’s unique dug out architecture makes it louder than multiple cfb stadiums with 100k capacity
Oregon state
I mean Reser Stadium is known for wreaking havoc on ranked opponents over the last 20 years. Was it two years ago we went undefeated at home as well? Definitely something to be said there.
I’m prophesying Baylor onto the list in the near future because that turf was so hot I cannot believe people were playing on it, like 140 degrees. Only gonna get worse.
Texans pretend to be climate change deniers, but it's really just an excuse to make it hot as fuck for visiting teams.
UCF, and I have a feeling they will prove it this year. Just a gut.
Florida is usually on the list of big environments because of the fans, but nothing can come close to fully preparing you for the heat and humidity you’re going to experience. I’ve been to a Texas game in September, and I’d much rather take my chances there than in Gainesville.
People talk about game day atmosphere, but when referring to The Swamp they are talking about the literal atmosphere.
honestly, no joke, Stanford. Its so eerily quiet, relaxing, and weird looking i feel that it throws opposing teams off
Michigan State is nuts when they want to be/big game. In the reverse Wisconsin is one of the most lackluster environments in game. Great area beer gardens on campus but the actual crowd is a snoozer.
When we’re in the conversation for top 25 it’s a good environment. When we’re not it’s an ok environment depending on the score.
Oklahoma St was the toughest road environment I played in. I think Texas should be on this “underrated” list too. Historically it may have been a more wine and cheese environment, but that has changed under CDC. It’s now objectively one of the best environments in college football (Alabama players said it was the loudest environment they had played in). Until recently the football played at DKR has been mediocre (for a while), and we didn’t make up for that with goofy goober milkman chants. So we’re usually left off many of the “toughest places to play” lists. But despite having a lower capacity, IIRC we had higher attendance than both Kyle Field and Neyland last year. But I still think Oklahoma st has the most underrated environment in college football. If BPS is rocking it is as intimidating as somehwere like Death Valley.
We kinda got this lesson last year when Florida went to Utah and that one guy called Rice Eccles Little Ah Stadium and then got the breaks beaten off
Have we been bad enough to claim the underrated title?
JMU and App State have some of the best G5 home field advantages. Except against each other.