As part of the rankings week ahead of the debut of its College Football 25 video game this summer, EA Sports released its top 25 ranking of the stadiums they believe are the most difficult to play in.
Stadium play is set to be a key feature of the upcoming game, with Electronic Arts revealing details of a new “Stadium Pulse” feature, including new gameplay footage in several famous stadiums, camera shake caused by the home team's crowd, and a pulse meter that measures crowd noise to affect the opposing team.
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What did EA Sports get right and what did they get wrong in ranking college football stadiums?
Georgia enters the top five
Sanford Stadium has been a surprisingly effective home for college football's up-and-coming teams. Georgia currently enjoys the longest winning streak in the nation at 25 and hasn't lost on the ground since Nov. 12, 2019, when Rodrigo Blankenship's field goal went wide left against unranked South Carolina.
Penn State did not make the top five
Beaver Stadium comes in at #6 on the EA Stadium Rankings, which is a respectable spot in the Top 10 but should really be in the Top 5. Happy Valley Stadium is a total disadvantage for visiting teams, especially if you're playing in the student seats during a white out for a night game.
Just ask Ohio State, which could do just that on Nov. 2 and pull off a major upset in the expanded Big Ten Conference.
Rocky Top isn't tall enough
EA Sports ranked Neyland Stadium 13th, which may come as a surprise to the team hosting the University of Tennessee on the banks of the Tennessee River.
It doesn't get any louder or more raucous in the SEC or anywhere in college football, and case in point was when Big Orange fans stormed the field and destroyed the goal posts after UT beat rival Alabama in 2022.
The Big House is too low
The defending college football national champions have won 22 consecutive home games at Michigan Stadium, one of the sport's grandest venues, built in 1927 and now capable of seating 107,601 fans, making it the largest stadium in the country and the third-largest on the planet.
This season, Texas comes to the Big House as two of the most prestigious schools go head-to-head and potentially set new attendance records.
Kyle Fields on top?
While there's no denying the passion of Texas A&M fans or the sheer amount of stuff the 12th man has to offer on any given Saturday, it was a surprise to see EA Sports rank Kyle Field at no.
Judging by opponents' records at this venue over the past decade or so, it seems like a relatively easy win: A&M is just 28-18 against Power Five teams over the past decade, hasn't won by double digits at home since 2012, and is just 53-19 overall in that time.
Our pick for No. 1 would have been LSU. The noise and craziness here will be the toughest road test for any team visiting Death Valley, especially at night.
Where was Clemson?
It was surprising to see Memorial Stadium ranked below Florida State in the rankings, with Clemson coming in at No. 12, below the Seminoles, who are ranked ninth in EA Sports' projections.
At the very least, this ranking should be reversed. Dabo Swinney's Tigers were nearly unstoppable during their heyday in the College Football Playoff and won two national titles.
Clemson's thrilling pre-game ceremonies, which include a bus ride around the stadium, touching the Howard Rock and running down the hill onto the field, are always a must-see spectacle.
The Tigers are 24-2 at Death Valley since the 2020 season, a testament not only to their dominance as a team but also to the passionate enthusiasm of their hometown fans.
Autzen is underrated
Playing Oregon has always been a tough challenge for visiting schools, even long before Dan Lanning took over as head coach, and now that the Ducks are in the playoffs every year, the fan enthusiasm is expected to be even more intense this year, especially with home games against Ohio State and Washington.
Check out EA Sports' Top 25 College Football Stadiums here
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