Published August 7, 2012 - 5:20pm
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Remember when Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was one of the scariest venues in the Southeastern Conference, a burial ground for ranked teams during the Steve Spurrier and Tim Tebow eras? How can we forget the six-digit fan totals at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville during the Philip Fulmer wonder years where checkerboard end zones mesmerized the opposition?
It’s going to take awhile for those concrete and brick monstrosities to summon their storied past. Heading into this season, the usual suspects head the list of SDS’ toughest SEC venues this fall with one program in the Top 5 that could play BCS buster in January with an unbeaten home slate.
5. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville: Between Reynolds and War Memorial, it’s tough to beat Arkansas away from home no matter what venue. Equipped with one of the country’s best quarterbacks in Tyler Wilson an arguably the SEC’s top 1-2 punch of Knile Davis and Ronnie Wingo in the backfield, the Razorbacks are going to be dominant on offense this season. As many as 80,000 can be heard screaming Woo Pig Sooie on gamedays. The LED “PigScreen” above the end zone is pretty neat and was the largest scoreboard at any stadium in the country when it was built in 2000.
4. Sanford Stadium, Athens: Between the hedges inside Georgia’s 92,700-seat, 82-year old mecca. A preseason East favorite on most accounts, Aaron Murray and Co. should have plenty to bark about at home this fall. They’ll be favored in all seven games behind scarlet and gray-clad fans hungry for an SEC title. The Georgia Dome on championship weekend could be another home game for the Bulldogs if they find success on separate road trips to Columbia, Mo. and Columbia, S.C.
3. Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.: A new gargantuan scoreboard. Sandstorm and 2001 blasting out the speakers. A renovated Farmer’s Market and fairgrounds. As far as looks are concerned, the Gamecocks are everything an 11-2 program should be. South Carolina has talent comparable to any team in the country at the necessary skill positions with a Hall of Fame coach on the home sideline. Outside of a road trip to Baton Rouge, all of the Gamecocks’ “swing” games this season are at home, setting up South Carolina nicely for a trip to Atlanta.
2. Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa: The second largest stadium in the SEC will be all amped up after another national championship. Not that the Crimson Tide faithful needed another reason to be any louder. Alabama will likely go 7-0 at Bryant-Denny with a reasonably soft league schedule by SEC standards. What happens away from Tuscaloosa — notably at Arkansas and at LSU — will determine Alabama’s fate.
1. Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge: Eight home games with at least five guaranteed under the lights. That’s a scary proposition for opponents heading down to the Bayou this season. The preseason conference favorites are tough to beat at home and nearly untouchable at night behind the strength of 92,500 fans. South Carolina’s trip to the Honey Badger’s Lair on Oct. 13 could derail the Gamecocks’ national championship hopes. The same goes for the Crimson Tide on Nov. 3. That first Saturday in November likely decides the BCS champion front-runner.
UGA fans do not ever wear “scarlet and gray.” And I say flip Arkansas and SC and it looks about right. I’ve been in WB Stadium many times and I’ve never found it intimidating in any way…
Notice he said THIS Season.
Come to Willy-B for the UGA game then give us your opinion.
I’ve been to SC games for many “huge” games, including the Alabama game they won. It always feels second rate. Sorry. …and I’m not a UGA fan.
Ha! I’ve been to Alabama and Athens 10 times and they’re not the least bit intimidating. Baton rouge on the other hand…..
second rate to what? you sound like a fan with sour grapes. first of all, the alabama
players didn’t seem to think so, as they were very complimentary after the game. and
that was their first reg season loss in a year and a half. so the environment inside our
stadium was nasty enough to shake them. i was there, and it was extremely loud all ]
day long. now they have added a 6.5 million dollar video board, second largest in the sec.
they have also spent the entire off-season developing an area much like the “grove”
in miss’s place. with all the money spent (200 million facilities plan), i can assure you
that there is nothing second rate about williams bryce. state of the art locker room,
state of the art players lounge, unit rooms and film study facility. and one of the best weight
room and athletic facilities in the country. you might want to buy a clue jeff, it seems
your all out…
The Cockpit was absolutely insane when we beat Bama Jeffy you’re high as a kite lmao
im a ga fan and i never wear scarlet and gray..that just sounds fruitty. kinda like ohio state fans would wear.
Tennessee will there name back up there soon
No Kyle Field/12th Man in College Station? Wow. Aggies are rabid enough on any ol’ given Tuesday. Add a Saturday in the fall and a new conference into the mix, and the result will be an insane experience.
We’ll see how intimidating Kyle Field is going to be when Florida pays a visit at the beginning of the season. Welcome to the SEC!
Despite never having played in the SEC, Kyle Field ranks on any top venues list. Get ready to experience football 12th Man style, SEC.
sorry, never heard of it.
I’m sure that’s how it was in Texas, but this is real football. Welcome to the SEC.
Better get ready to add Kyle Field to the list. WIth 90,000 Aggies in the stands and when they start rocking and yelling, it will be right behind Death Valley as the loudest stadium in the SEC.
listen jt, before you newbies start mouthing off, you might want to realize that you are stepping up into the sec, and nothing you have will rank anywhere around the tops in this league. the mighty sec will humble you tremendously before it is all said and done. now, i’m not saying that your team can’t make strides over time, but to think you are coming into this conference and being considered in anything near the top right off the start is neanderthal in its conception. can’t wait to see you texas boys get your a$$ handed to you week in and week out. then i’ll look for you on these boards, and see if you are still mouthing off.
Gotta love the enthusiasm. I welcome the Aggies, but much appreciate the tough love from the elder statesmen. Gentlemen, football is near.
Win or lose, the 12th Man (that’s Aggie fans to those of you uninitiated to our parlance) never
Win or lose, the 12th Man (that’s Aggie fans to those of you uninitiated to our parlance) never quits. That’s what sets us a part from everyone else & their seersucker & bow tie, sundress wearing fair weather fans who’d rather be tailgating.
“I’ve seen them play since way back when,
And they’ve always had the grit;
I’ve seen ‘em lose and I’ve seen ‘em win,
But I’ve never seen ‘em quit.”
Third Quarter traffic control ? Hogs never had a problem with Kyle Field back in the SWC days. The George Patton theme song usually stopped playing by the second half.
To mouth off you have to be wrong; he’s just bragging. I’m not talking about the Ags joining the SEC, I’m talking about the SEC joining us at Kyle. Make no mistake, whether we win or run out of time at home, the 12th Man is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
This seems to be a ranking of teams rather than home field advantage.
^^^^^ Nailed it.
Should be… if the teams are all on an even talent level and are playing a home game at night against their biggest rival, then which stadium is toughest to play in. And under those terms it would be Florida, LSU, and Tennessee. I would also add Miss St because of their illegal cow bells.
I was at the Florida game two years ago, and it was quiet as a church mouse inside Neyland.
UT is going through their worst 4 year stretch in school history… So it probably wasn’t the best game to attend. But a fair point.
If we are counting Fan or Player discomfort I would say a September Daytime
game at Florida is brutal.That swamp pressure cooker with zero air flow in that
bowl is terrible. Field temps at 120 is very intimidating. Only problem is the Fans aren’t enjoying the Heat either. Home field advantage or home field insanity?If TV is available avoid the Heat Stroke.
5 years ago alaBAMA lost to LA Monroe at home… This automatically puts Bryant-Denny at the bottom of the list for… at least 15 years.
Haha
You mean like that TN loss the following year to that powerhouse Wyoming on Hillbilly Hill (Wyoming’s only other wins… SDST, N Dakota ST and Ohio)? What’s really sad is UA did indeed lose to La-Monroe in 2007… yet STILL managed to beat UT 41-17. OUCH!
“The LED “PigScreen” above the end zone is pretty neat and was the largest scoreboard at any stadium in the country when it was built in 2000.”
Just FYI, that LED screen has been scrapped this summer and replaced with a larger, brand new HD screen.
http://www.fayettevilleflyer.com/2012/05/22/installation-begins-on-new-hd-video-scoreboard-display-at-razorback-stadium/
yeah, that farmer’s market will make it real tough to win at Carolina. What?
GO GAMECOCKS.