Ranking college football's top five environments in Week 6
Week 6 reminded us why college football is unbelievable theater. Five of the top eight teams went down and the state of Mississippi will forever remember Oct. 4.
Looking back at Saturday’s schedule of games, let’s take a trip around the country to the five best environments in Week 6:
1. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
Oxford finally got its chance at the national spotlight, and it did not disappoint. 61, 826 Rebel fans filled Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (including the new face of Ole Miss football, Katy Perry) and that many people arguably were on the field after the win. However, it was The Grove that stole the show in Oxford. Estimates were that nearly 120,000 people showed up for ESPN’s “College GameDay” and host Samantha Ponder described the scene as the mixture of “prom, an outdoor wedding and a NASCAR event.” Producer Lee Fitting was already vying on Saturday night for his show to make it back.
Dear The Grove, there is no place like you. You exceeded all expectations! Let’s bring back @CollegeGameDay this season! #HOTTYTODDY
— Lee Fitting (@leefitting) October 5, 2014
2. Davis-Wade Stadium
We stay in the Magnolia State and make the trip just 98 miles south to Starkville, as “GameDay” will this week. A capacity crowd of 61,133, cow bells in hand, were on hand to see what was likely the biggest win of the Dan Mullen era. With the renovations to Davis-Wade Stadium have made it a premier venue to see an SEC football game, and The Junction now must make a quick recovery with No. 2 Auburn coming to town this weekend.
3. TCU
The crowd of 47, 397 at Amon Carter Stadium was the fifth-largest in school history as the Horned Frogs downed No. 4 Oklahoma 37-33 in a thriller. Gary Patterson’s TCU team is undefeated and are now in the top 10, but now face a stiff test as the Horned Frogs travel down to Waco and the sparkling new McLane Stadium for a date with No. 5 Baylor.
4. Jordan-Hare Stadium
Head coach Gus Malzahn tweeted for the first time in nearly three weeks on Friday night asking for a noisy venue for his team’s matchup on Saturday night against LSU. The Auburn family responded and as ESPN play-by-play man Brad Nessler said during the first quarter of the game, “this might be the loudest Jordan-Hare Stadium has been this early in the game.” A sold-out crowd of 87, 451 were on the Plains to see the Tigers dominate LSU.
Looking forward to playing in front of the best fans in the country tomorrow night at Jordan-Hare! Let’s get loud!! #WarEagle #AuburnFast — Coach Gus Malzahn (@CoachGusMalzahn) October 3, 2014
5. Michigan State
If you’re a true college football fan, a night game at Spartan Stadium is a must-see (or so I’ve heard). It didn’t disappoint in primetime on Saturday as Michigan State narrowly edged Nebraska in a Big Ten affair. The crowd of 75,923 braved chilly temperatures for the first weekend in October and saw the home jump out to a 27-3 lead through three quarters only to stave off a comeback attempt by the Big Red late.