Toughest places to play in the SEC in the last 10 years

Home-field advantage is a huge thing in the SEC.

Every school in the league likes to brag about their stadium being the toughest in which to play. What’s been the toughest venue in the last 10 years? It’s LSU, by a hair over Alabama. The Tigers are 63-9 in Tiger Stadium since 2006 and the Crimson Tide is just a notch back at 62-9 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Here’s the ranking of all 14 schools in the last 10 years. (Missouri and Texas A&M’s records precede their joining the SEC in 2012; Arkansas’ record includes home games in Little Rock.)

Those are the by-the-numbers rankings but let’s be honest now. Sometimes it’s the players that determine these things, not the stadium, field conditions, fans, noise level, etc. And players get cyclical through the years.

What about the eyeball test?

How about when a team is really, really good and you’ve got to go there to play a road game?  Let’s go beyond the 10 years here, since I’ve been writing about SEC football since the late 1970s.

Here’s my rankings of the top 5 stadiums in the SEC when it’s a huge game with two great teams battling it out:

1. LSU: There is no more intimidating stadium in the country than Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. It’s loud from the word go, Tigers fans are totally into it from the first whistle and trying to call out signals on offense when that crowd is roaring borders on impossible. I’m slightly biased here because I grew up in Big Ten country with day games and my first night game was at LSU and I was blown away. Been there a half-dozen times since, and that same feeling takes over every time.
2. Florida: In Steve Spurrier’s heyday –  and then in Urban Meyer’s – The Swamp was electric. All the various additions through the years walled in all the noise and the place can get very loud. It has a special buzz at night too, but play a noon game down there early in the year with 90-plus temperatures and 90-plus humidity, and the Gators had a huge advantage.
3. Tennessee: Same goes for Neyland Stadium. Back in the 1990s, when the Vols were contending for titles every year, that stadium rocked on every single play. It’s changed a bit during this last decade while Tennessee has fallen on hard times, but I’ve got a feeling the place is going to be electric again in 2016. It’s a fantastic place to watch a game along the river.
4. Alabama: OK, Tide fans, rip away. That’s what you do whenever you’re not No. 1 in something. But here’s my logic for a No. 4 ranking. Every time I’ve been to Tuscaloosa for a game, there are at least 10,000 empty seats at kickoff because everyone is still tailgating in the parking lot or slowly meandering their way in. And if the Tide get a lead? Adios, fans! Bryant-Denny empties out faster than a theatre when someone yells fire. Don’t rip me for this opinion. Your coach, Nick Saban, has shared the same sentiments often.
5. Georgia, Auburn: The final call for the fifth spot was a tough one. I’ll let you fans dicker it out between Athens and Auburn. I seriously considered South Carolina too, because those fans are loud, even when the Gamecocks are struggling. I didn’t mean to ignore the Kyle Field faithful and Texas A&M, but I’ve never been. I’ll rectify that one of these years.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.