In the last few weeks ahead of the official release of the highly-anticipated College Football 25 video game, EA Sports has announced it will unveil its own rankings around the sport leading into the game's July 19 release, and first up is their prediction for the toughest stadiums in the country.
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Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been the home of the Gators since its opening back in 1930 and boasts a capacity of more than 88,500 fans. Its record crowd dates from 2015, when Florida hosted rival Florida State before 90,916 faithful.
Doak Campbell Stadium bears the name of the former FSU president with a capacity of 79,560, the 49th-largest stadium in the world and the 15th-biggest in college football. The Seminoles played to a record 84,431 fans when they hosted Notre Dame in a 2014 loss.
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium has been the home of the Sooners since 1923, celebrating its 100th birthday last football season. The stadium boasts a capacity 86,112, ranking No. 22 in the world and No. 13 in college football. OU's record capacity is 88,388 in 2017 against TCU.
Sitting on the ground of Camp Randall, a Civil War-era training camp, the Badgers have played on the site since 1895 and the first stadium went up in 1917, making it the oldest in the Big Ten. Wisconsin set a record with 83,184 fans for the Iowa game in 2005, and the sight of fans dancing in the stadium as part of their "Jump Around" tradition has been one of college football's most recognizable Saturday features since the 1990s.
Built in 1959, Beaver Stadium remains one of college football's loudest and most raucous environments. Penn State boasts a capacity of 106,572 seats, making it the second-largest stadium in college football, and the fourth-largest venue on Earth. Home to one of the nation's most vocal student sections, the famous "White Out" game at Happy Valley is one of the toughest on any schedule.
Sanford Stadium has played host to a pair of national champion teams in the last three seasons, the vaunted home field of budding dynasty Georgia. The stadium seats 92,746 fans, making it the ninth biggest college football venue and the 17th-largest in the world. Its first game was a defeat of Yale in 1929, widely regarded as a key moment when Southern football went national by beating a favored Northeastern school. Georgia is 22-0 at Sanford since 2020.
Breaking ground in 1921 and opening in 1922, Ohio Stadium, also known as The Horseshoe, has an official capacity of 102,780 seats, making it the third largest stadium in college football. But the Buckeye faithful set a record of 110,045 in 2016 against — who else? — arch-rival Michigan, a three-point double-overtime victory for Ohio State. The scarlet and gray are 22-2 at home since the 2020 season.
Ask most college football fans inside the SEC, and out, and they'll tell you maybe no other place in the country is as raw and loud as Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. Death Valley seats 102,321 fans, making it the fifth-biggest in college ball and the seventh-largest in the world. One of the most famous matchups on the site was the "Earthquake Game" in 1988, when a late touchdown to beat Auburn caused a crowd reaction so intense that it registered as an earthquake on a local seismograph.
Boasting an .827 win percentage for the home team since opening in 1929, Bryant-Denny Stadium is indeed one of college football's most formidable venues. With a seating capacity of 100,077 fans, the home of Alabama football is the eighth-largest in the country and the 10th-largest in the world, and was the first in the SEC to surpass 100,000 fans for a game. Bama is a dominant 25-1 in Titletown since the 2020 season.
Home of the 12th Man, Kyle Field currently holds the record as the largest football venue in the SEC with a capacity for 102,733 fans, making it also the fourth-biggest stadium in college football and in the country. Texas A&M set a record of 110,633 fans against Ole Miss in 2014, at that time the biggest attendance for an SEC game or any game in the state of Texas. Quite an achievement.
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JAMES PARKS
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.
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