Ahead of the release of their “College Football 26” video game, EA Sports revealed the “Top 25 toughest places to play.” The list took a look at which home stadium was the toughest to play in, and it included some stadiums that are known for hostile fans. However, one football analyst was not impressed with the list EA Sports came up with.
During the June 28 episode of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show,” on YouTube, analyst Josh Pate pointed out that some of the stadiums EA Sports listed might not belong there at all. He immediately questioned why Ohio State was included in the list, pointing out that the Buckeyes were good at home not because of their home crowd, but because they were a good team.
He said (1:29):
“LSU one, no problem, Penn State two, no problem. Mind youm I go to all these places, I’ve seen most or all of them,” Pate said. “Ohio State is not a top five, Ohio State’s really good, so if you’re telling me Ohio State belongs in the top three because their home winning percentage is through the roof, I would encourage you to look at Ohio State’s winning percentage no matter where they’re playing.”
He also questioned why Michigan was even placed in the top ten (3:18):
“Michigan does not belong in the top ten, and I’ve seen Michigan with Ohio State in town, a phenomenal atmosphere,” Pate said. “But again, you’re talking about going against the heavyweight cathedrals in this sport and some of these places are built up and your place is built out, you got 400,000 people in there, but I think architecture hurt you a little bit.”
Pate also questioned EA Sports on Georgia and Alabama for the same reasoning, saying that the stadium is not necessarily tough for road teams to play in, the home team there is just that good.
Which Stadiums Made the EA Sports CFB 26 Toughest Stadiums List?
While Pate only discussed the top ten, the complete list actually has 25, including (from 25 to 11): Davis Wade Stadium (Mississippi State), Spartan Stadium (Michigan State), Boone Pickens Stadium (Oklahoma State), Carter-Finley Stadium (NC State), Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame), Rice-Eccles Stadium (Utah), and Kinnick Stadium (Iowa).
Husky Stadium (Washington), Jordan-Hare Stadium (Auburn), Williams-Brice Stadium (South Carolina), Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin), Doak S. Campbell Stadium (Florida State), Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium (Texas), Neyland Stadium (Tennessee), and Kyle Field (Texas A&M) were also named.
The top 10 includes (in descending order): Michigan Stadium (Michigan), Autzen Stadium (Oregon), Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Oklahoma), Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida), Memorial Stadium (Clemson), Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama), Sanford Stadium (Georgia), Ohio Stadium (Ohio State), Beaver Stadium (Penn State), and Tiger Stadium (LSU).
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