CFB's ten toughest places to play list...

[The Maestro]

per foxsports.com. I guess 58-2 with arguably two fluke losses and sellouts galore isn't good enough to compete with Michigan, where they lose to 1-AA teams and the likes of Va Tech, Penn State, etc.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/pgStory?contentId=8418914&MSNHPHMA#sport=COLLEGE%20FOOTBALL&photo=8416160

Oh, well...nothing more than annoying.

[soonervegas]

I actually agree with that entire list EXCEPT Michigan Stadium. Been there....not that loud. A&M, KSU, and Nebraska own them in the Big 12 alone.

[sooneron]

The big house is a joke. 6 losses there since the '02 season.

[badger]

Oh look, another list for me to poke fun at. Well, I've done long summaries, I've done sentence summaries, three-word summaries, two-word summaries, single word summaries and even smiley summaries... where can I go from here?

10. Sanford Stadium - University of Georgia
http://www.beussery.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/victoryonplainsprint.jpg
Biting bulldogs add to football playing difficulty.

9. Autzen Stadium - University of Oregon
http://www.bevosports.com/images/oregon-helmet-live-sm.jpg
Highlighter yellow leads to opposing player blindness.

8. Michigan Stadium - University of Michigan
http://lauriekendrick.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/mich2.jpg
Losing induces depression, making football depressing to play here.

7. Lane Stadium - Virginia Tech
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/07/sports/07vick.jpg
It takes a turkey to resort to stomping, but it is nonetheless effective at making football playing difficult for opposition.

6. Ohio Stadium - The Ohio State University
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2006-08-09-clarett2.jpg
What, do YOU want to play against Buckeyes like this?

5. Kyle Field - Texas A&M
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d90/jennacamille/aggies.jpg
Off-field distractions are definitely more distracting to the eye than the ear.

4. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium - University of Florida
http://bigeastsux.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/gatorfans.jpg
Football players cannot wear jorts, thus the Swamp can get very hot and sticky these times of the year wearing full uniform.

3. Beaver Stadium - Penn State University
http://www.collegeotr.com/images/blogs/ff3c158ca0c2b29f1db957b16e1e3838.jpg
What's that smell? Joe! Not again... Ugh. Why can't these football helmets plug our noses too...

2. Neyland Stadium - University of Tennessee
http://smokeys-trail.com/dream98.jpg
It really is so incredibly intimidating to play at a place where a team won a championship 10 years ago.

1. Tiger Stadium - Louisiana State University
http://www.thejockrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lsu-tiger-eye.jpg
Does anyone else find that eye creepy?
---
For obvious reasons (most obvious being that we are Oklahoma and not a low-class fanbase), it would be inappropriate to name the obvious LSU/VaTech knocks, right? Ok, so before yo mention that, that's why :)

[The Maestro]

I had time to kill and wanted to see what the FACTS say. Pretty compelling argument for OU.

Last 9 years...

1. LSU - 52-11 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.
2. Tennessee - 57-13 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.
3. Penn State - 45-16 at home. Unbeaten at home twice. 3-3 one year and 3-4 another year...AT HOME!!!
4. Florida - 47-10 at home. Unbeaten at home three times. 3-3 one year.
5. Texas A&M - 41-17 at home. Unbeaten at home ONCE. 3-4 one year.
6. Ohio State - 53-9 at home. Unbeaten at home three times.
7. Virginia Tech - 52-9 at home. Unbeaten at home twice, but not since 2000 when dog killer was running wild.
8. Michigan - 51-10 at home. Unbeaten at home four times.
9. Oregon - 45-12 at home...should be 44-13. Unbeaten at home twice, but not since 2000.
10. Georgia - 48-9 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.

NOT RANKED...

OU - 56-2 at home. Unbeaten at home SEVEN times in the last NINE years!

Not even close...this list is a joke.

[sooneron]

Here's a good question.

Before last year's MU game, what was our last real quality home win?

I think you have to go back to the 02 bammer game.

[badger]

Not even close...this list is a joke.

We can't let the facts get in the way of good photography and fun pictures... not to mention reputation based on hype! LSU is tough to play at! Did you know that they only lost AFTER regulation was over last season?

This is why I mock preseason lists :D

[badger]

Here's a good question.

Before last year's MU game, what was our last real quality home win?

Mack: Let me answer that one for Chris...

2004: OREGON, 31-7
2003: UCLA, 59-24; TEXAS A&M, 77-0
2002: ALABAMA, 37-27
2001: KANSAS STATE, 38-37

Quality enough? :)

[The Maestro]

Here's a good question.

Before last year's MU game, what was our last real quality home win?

I think you have to go back to the 02 bammer game.

Yeah, I was going to brag about how many ranked teams we have beaten. Maybe at the time, but according to soonerstats.com, we have only beaten 6 teams in the last nine years at home that ENDED the season ranked. Eh...not our fault...or I guess it sorta is!

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

Yeah, I was going to brag about how many ranked teams we have beaten. Maybe at the time, but according to soonerstats.com, we have only beaten 6 teams in the last nine years at home that ENDED the season ranked. Eh...not our fault...or I guess it sorta is!

Obviously, 2007 Missouri
2003 - 52-9 against #14 at the time OSU
2002 - 49-3 against #9 at the time ISU
2002 - 27-11 against #13 at the time CU
2001 - 38-37 against #11 at the time KSU
Obviously, 2000 Nebraska
1999 - 51-6 against # 13 at the time aTm

All those seem like quality wins to me.

[badger]

I had time to kill and wanted to see what the FACTS say. Pretty compelling argument for OU.

Last 9 years...

1. LSU - 52-11 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.
2. Tennessee - 57-13 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.
3. Penn State - 45-16 at home. Unbeaten at home twice. 3-3 one year and 3-4 another year...AT HOME!!!
4. Florida - 47-10 at home. Unbeaten at home three times. 3-3 one year.
5. Texas A&M - 41-17 at home. Unbeaten at home ONCE. 3-4 one year.
6. Ohio State - 53-9 at home. Unbeaten at home three times.
7. Virginia Tech - 52-9 at home. Unbeaten at home twice, but not since 2000 when dog killer was running wild.
8. Michigan - 51-10 at home. Unbeaten at home four times.
9. Oregon - 45-12 at home...should be 44-13. Unbeaten at home twice, but not since 2000.
10. Georgia - 48-9 at home. Unbeaten at home twice.

NOT RANKED...

OU - 56-2 at home. Unbeaten at home SEVEN times in the last NINE years!

Not even close...this list is a joke.

To be fair (if we're going to be fair, after all, life isn't fair when some schools have good football teams and other don't), you have to consider the talent level of the team in addition to the record.

Take for example...say... Penn State. NOT talented. PSU fans PSU-ed off that they are stuck with JoePa and his non-championship winning ways until the guy retires or acts like the Yell Leader mentioned at the Alamo Bowl. But, with a tough place for opposing crowds to play, did this lead them to a better record than they would have otherwise had?

As such, we should compare road records to home records to determine if a team really plays better at home than on the road. When you factor this factor in, places like Tennessee might even seem intimidating... even if you're playing a team that hasn't won a championship in 10 years *wink*wink*

[Salt City Sooner]

Mack: Let me answer that one for Chris...

2004: OREGON, 31-7
2003: UCLA, 59-24; TEXAS A&M, 77-0
2002: ALABAMA, 37-27
2001: KANSAS STATE, 38-37

Quality enough? :)
'02 'Bama is the only team on that list that finished with a winning record (10-3 & would've been in the SEC title game if not for probation). That's not OU's fault, as UCLA & Oregon are usually pretty decent, if not darn good in a few select years. It just happened to be bad luck that we drew them when they were down, same as Miami this past year, & Washington in '06.

I'm obviously not there to ask the guys who made this list, but I've got a strong hunch that they separated the difficulty of the PLACE they play in from the quality of the TEAM that plays there. There is a difference. Everybody knows the quality of the team that takes the field in Norman, but as for Memorial Stadium itself, it just ain't that loud in comparison to other places I've been to. Even Heupel himself (in his book) said that when KSU ran that blocked punt back in the '00 game that that little crackerbox was the loudest he'd ever heard a stadium get.

[KingDavid]

I actually agree with that entire list EXCEPT Michigan Stadium. Been there....not that loud. A&M, KSU, and Nebraska own them in the Big 12 alone.

While A&M does get a ton of mileage out of fheir home field advantage, the truth is that they've sucked so hard and for so long that they really don't belong on this list. There are at least 15 places/teams I'd put in front of them at this point.

Michigan State is a joke. Doesn't belong at all.

[AimForCenterMass]

The only school with a home record similar to OU is Boise State. For obvious reasons, they didn't make the list, but I think the advantage of having an oddly-colored turf shouldn't be ignored.

[The Maestro]

To be fair (if we're going to be fair, after all, life isn't fair when some schools have good football teams and other don't), you have to consider the talent level of the team in addition to the record.

Take for example...say... Penn State. NOT talented. PSU fans PSU-ed off that they are stuck with JoePa and his non-championship winning ways until the guy retires or acts like the Yell Leader mentioned at the Alamo Bowl. But, with a tough place for opposing crowds to play, did this lead them to a better record than they would have otherwise had?

As such, we should compare road records to home records to determine if a team really plays better at home than on the road. When you factor this factor in, places like Tennessee might even seem intimidating... even if you're playing a team that hasn't won a championship in 10 years *wink*wink*


Well, the list said "toughest places to play"...and OU is obviously the toughest place for teams to come in and win. All those teams on that list have UGLY home losses. I mean, blowouts, bad teams, mediocre teams. OU has two losses in 9 years by a total of 10 points and we both know the OSU game and TCU game were flukes and not even two of the best teams we have played at home during that time. TCU might be top ten, but that OSU team was BAD.

[sooneron]

Obviously, 2007 Missouri
2003 - 52-9 against #14 at the time OSU
2002 - 49-3 against #9 at the time ISU
2002 - 27-11 against #13 at the time CU
2001 - 38-37 against #11 at the time KSU
Obviously, 2000 Nebraska
1999 - 51-6 against # 13 at the time aTm

All those seem like quality wins to me.

"At the time" rankings mean little. They basically say that they pollsters had no idea of how good a team was at the time.

I'll give you the 9-4 osu team in 03,
BUT isu finished 7-7
CU somehow made the top 20 with a 9-5 record, so that's a decent win, but no marquee win.
KSU in 01 finished 6-6

It's not necessarily our fault that we just haven't gotten many teams that were big at home.

Badger,
atm finished 4-8 in 03 and whoregon finished 5-6 in 04.
NOT quality teams there.