top of page
Search

Most Intimidating College Football Stadiums - Top Ten

  • Homer
  • Mar 24
  • 7 min read

Updated: Mar 29

These are my definitive rankings of the best college football stadiums in the country. By best, I mean most intimidating, hardest to play in, and those that give opposing fans that sinking feeling in their stomach, even if the host team is not elite.


Many rankings of college football stadiums often conflate the stadiums themselves with the teams who play in them. An illustrative example of this is the Horseshoe. Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium is another. It's difficult to separate those stadiums from the historical dominance of those programs. No one won in Tuscaloosa for years because of the unmatched quality of Coach Saban's teams. Same goes for Ohio Stadium right now where the Buckeyes defeat most challengers because they are the more talented team. With these rankings, I try to focus more on the intimidating environment supplied by the stadiums than the programs that are housed in them. All that said, tough stadiums are not penalized due to the strength of the home team.


Finally, even though this deviates from uniform rankings, which is where my bread is buttered, stadium rankings fall into the sports aesthetics bucket because they play such an integral role in the sports viewing experience.


1) Beaver Stadium


There is nothing in sports like a full stadium white out for a Penn State night game. Visually, the hundred thousand plus fans glow and on top of that, Beaver Stadium is notoriously loud (its steel frames shake when the stadium gets rowdy).


Case in point: In 2005, when Michael Robinson's Penn State hosted Troy Smith's Ohio State during a student-section white out game, Beaver Stadium introduced its Zombie Nation chant to the college football world while the Nittany Lions knocked Smith on his head to secure a pivotal win. The student-section white out expanded into a full-stadium white out years later against Notre Dame and has been a staple of the program since, helping Penn State secure an epic upset over a loaded Ohio State team in 2016 on the way to a Big Ten title.


Sorry SEC fans, there's nothing in the Southeast or anywhere else in the country that can match Happy Valley on a chilly fall evening. Penn State's white outs have been such a hit that you can see other football and now basketball teams in both college and professional sports copying it to great effect.


Credit: usatoday.com


Credit: Barry Reeger, the Associated Press


Credit: Justin K. Aller, Getty Images


Credit: Selders, PSU Athletics


The sack that started it all:


Credit: Carolyn Kaster, the Associated Press


Credit: Joe Hermitt, PennLive


And the blocked kick and return that elevated it to an unparalleled level:


Credit: Joe Hermitt, PennLive


Credit: Abbey Drey, Centre Daily Times / TNS



Credit: Mikey DeAngelis, Onward State


Credit: Joe Hermitt, PennLive


Credit: Joe Hermitt, PennLive


Credit: Joe Hermitt, PennLive


2) Death Valley


Nothing signals college football like a Chris Fowler (and Brent Musburger before him) (and Keith Jackson before them)) lead in to a Saturday night at LSU's Tiger Stadium, better known as "Death Valley." First, you can't beat that nick name. Second, LSU's stadium and fans give off a real Voodoo-flavored Deliverance vibe that makes one fear for the safety of opposing teams and their fans (no offense). Third, the "Eye of the Tiger" at the 50-yard line is dope. Fourth, and finally, LSU's killer color combination looks great at scale and combines with the verticality of the stadium to create a claustrophobic environment. It doesn't hurt that Death Valley is often regarded as the loudest venue in college football either.


Further, Death Valley gets bonus points for LSU's band's incessant playing of the "GEAUX TIGERS!" cheer. It's relentless, in a good way.


Credit: Austin Anthony, Daily News



Credit: Nick Adams


Credit: Jordan Hefler


Credit: LSU Sports


Credit: Will Bergeron


Credit: Yahoo.com


Credit: Stephen Lew, Icon Sportswire


Credit: LSU Football


Credit: Will Bergeron


3) Kinnick Stadium


As the most underrated venue in college football, Iowa's Kinnick Stadium presents like a high school stadium on steroids with its four vertical walls of fans and no levels. That simple yet intimidating structure makes it seem like the Hawkeyes' faithful are on the field. Midwesterners clad in black and gold stand directly behind the visiting team's sideline, crowd the endzones, and rob opposing players of any sense of separation from them.


But beyond the aesthetics, and regardless of the quality of Iowa's team, NO ONE ranked in the top ten wants to play in Kinnick. Just ask Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State fans about Kinnick Stadium and they'll still shutter. Or, more specifically, see unranked Iowa's 55 to 24 thrashing of third ranked Ohio State in 2017 for an illustrative example. This is precisely the sort of stadium these rankings were designed to capture. Most rankings of college football stadiums ignore Kinnick due to its relatively modest size (with just under 70,000 fans, it's only the seventh largest in in the Big Ten), but here, we give it its due respect. That's because bad things happen to teams visiting Kinnick, especially after dark.


On top of all of that, the Hawkeye Wave is one of the best traditions in sports. At the end of the first quarter, the players and fans in the stadium turn and wave to patients and families watching the game from the windows of the children's hospital next to the stadium. Also, and far less importantly, Iowa's stripe outs electrify Kinnick for big games.



Credit: Charlie Neibergall, the Associated Press



Credit: jedunn.com


4) Neyland Stadium


For Tennessee, it's all about "Checker Neyland," which is a sight to behold. The alternating sections of fans clad in orange and white combine with the checkered pattern in the endzones to create a unique and disorienting effect. Add to that the one hundred thousand plus fans packed into Neyland's two-level structure along with Neyland's unmatched pyrotechnics and you create a hostile environment for any visiting team.


I'm not going to get into nerd stats here like decibel levels (primarily because they are manipulated easily with pumped in noise), but tune in to any big game at Neyland and you can see the effect the Tennessee fans have on opposing players as their helmets rattle.


Credit: utsports.com


Credit: utsports.com


Credit: utsports.com


Credit: utsports.com


Credit: utsports.com


5) The Swamp


Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium looks like a shoe box of hell for visiting teams with its steep rectangular walls and enclosed structure. It's that uniquely shaped structure packed with 90,000 Gators fans that makes The Swamp one of the loudest venues in all of college football. When you throw Florida's infamous humidity into the mix, you can see why The Swamp proves to be an inhospitable environment for opposing players.



Credit: David Bowie, Gator Country




Credit: David Bowie, Gator Country


Credit: Emma Bissell, Florida Athletics


Credit: John Raoux, the Associated Press


6) Autzen Stadium


As to stadiums that punch above their weight, Oregon's Autzen Stadium takes the cake. Resembling a potato chip, Autzen was designed with steep, angular walls that funnel crowd noise down onto the field, which lies in the middle of the stadium's sunken bowl. This causes noise levels that have been measured to be louder than a jet engine, which is an incredible feat of engineering when you consider that the stadium houses just 54,000 fans (around half the capacity of Beaver Stadium and Neyland Stadium).


Credit: Anna Liv Myklebust, The Daily Emerald


Credit: SBG, katu.com


Credit: goducks.com


Credit: The Register-Guard


Credit: Sean Meagher, The Oregonian


Credit: goducks.com


7) Husky Stadium


Staying in the Pacific Northwest, Washington's Husky Stadium is the most scenic venue in college (and professional) football. Set on the banks of Lake Washington, Husky Stadium offers breathtaking views of the water--usually packed with fans partaking in "sailgating"--and the Cascade Mountains farther in the distance.


But don't let the serene setting fool you, this place gets unbelievably loud thanks to the vintage overhanging roofs on each side of the field, which trap noise in the stadium and send it cascading down onto the field.


A trip to Husky Stadium should be high on any college football fan's bucket list. Just don't expect your team to cruise to an easy victory.



Credit: Dean Rutz, The Seattle Times


Credit: Steph Chambers, Getty Images





8) Kyle Field


Texas A&M's Kyle Field has (i) size with a capacity of over 100,000 fans; (ii) verticality with its three-level structure; and, most importantly, the 12th Man. These factors explain why opposing players in the SEC and other leagues frequently point to Kyle Field as one of the the most intimidating venues in college football.


Credit: 12thman.com


Credit: Jerome Miron, Imagn Images


Credit: 12thman.com


Credit: 12thman.com


Credit: 12thman.com


Credit: 12thman.com


Credit: 12thman.com


9) Lane Stadium


Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium is another venue that is usually overlooked when it comes to stadium rankings because, like Kinnick Stadium, Lane Stadium looks like a souped-up high school football stadium. But when Virginia Tech is competitive, which, based upon early indications, they should be this upcoming season under the leadership of James Franklin, that intimate environment where the fans appear to restrict the field smothers opposing teams.


Moreover, and regardless of the quality of the home team, Lane Stadium hosts the best entrance in all of sports when Metallica's Enter Sandman blares, the fans jump up and down to the song's famous riff, and the players take the field while the stadium rumbles.



Credit: Virginia Tech


Credit: The Athletic




Credit: Virginia Tech


10) Clemson's Death Valley


Verticality distinguishes Clemson's Death Valley from most other stadiums. The two level structure is so steep it gives the impression that the Tigers' fans are falling onto the field. That and Clemson's shade of orange, which is overwhelming en masse, make Memorial Stadium a brutal place to visit.


Lastly, Howard's Rock sets the stage for one of the best entrances in college football when the Clemson players gallop down the hill in the east endzone to the shouts of over 80,000 rabid fans.


Credit: Clemson University


Credit: Clemson.edu


Credit: Adam Hagy, Imagn Images



Credit: David Welch, Stadium Journey


Credit: David Welch, Stadium Journey




 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page