Sports
Bruce Feldman ranks college football's 10 toughest stadiums to play in
EA Sports stirred up a lot of debate when it unveiled its rankings of the toughest places to play for the upcoming College Football 25 video game. I have my own thoughts based on some 30 years of covering the sport in which I’ve attended games at and been on the sidelines for many of the most charged stadium atmospheres in the country.
The loudest and craziest venue I’ve been to is the old Orange Bowl. When there was a huge Miami game there — usually a Florida State visit — nothing was quite like it. The closest thing I’ve seen is LSU’s Tiger Stadium. My colleagues at The Athletic had their own thoughts on the EA Sports list, and now here’s my ranking of the 10 toughest places to play in college football.
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College Football 25’s Toughest Places to Play: Debating the rankings
1. LSU: Tiger Stadium
The place is just pure mayhem, and it starts way before kickoff. I’ve heard from so many coaches over the years about how hostile the treatment of their teams is, from rattling their bus on arrival to dousing the visitors with booze. Just seeing Mike the Tiger in person adds another layer of intimidation to this.
Mike Leach told me the story of the first time he went in there when he was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky.
“There were these little old ladies with their grandchildren flipping off our bus,” Leach said. “Then as we got closer, they start rocking our bus!”
Count Leach among those awed by Mike the Tiger — and the entire experience.
I remember being there in 2007 when Florida and Tim Tebow came into Death Valley on a Saturday night for a top-10 showdown. Les Miles went for it five times on fourth down and his team — and their faithful — had his back every step of the way for a come-from-behind 28-24 win. It was a record crowd at the time of 92,910. It sounded like twice as many people were packed in there at a stadium that now holds more than 100,000.
There was also the legendary Earthquake Game in 1988. Technically, there were fewer than 80,000 fans in there to see LSU upset Auburn, 7-6. But a seismograph registered an earthquake after Tommy Hodson connected on a fourth-down TD pass with less than two minutes to play.
I asked former LSU staffer and longtime Louisiana media member Derek Ponamsky about the loudest he’s ever heard the place for a game, and he said it was in 2019 when another Florida team, ranked No. 6, visited.
“That game was insane from the second we stepped off the bus,” he said. “Ja’Marr (Chase’s) TD and our stop on fourth down in the red zone was almost as good as the Earthquake Game or Rueben Randle’s catch and run in 2010 against Alabama. But that stadium was a jet engine for six hours. It was LOUD before they even took the field. ‘College Gameday’ on campus. It was electric.”
If you meet someone who has never been around college football but wants the full experience, there is only one place they need to go to get it on full blast: LSU’s Death Valley.
2. Alabama: Bryant-Denny Stadium
My favorite visit here was for the 2010 Iron Bowl — the Cam Newton game. There was a ton of drama surrounding Auburn and Newton that season based on the NCAA’s investigation into his recruitment.
In the wake of this game, an Alabama staffer was let go because of their decision to play the Steve Miller Band song “Take the Money and Run” over the stadium sound system during warmups. It only added to the raucous energy in the building that day. The Tide jumped all over the Tigers early, going up 24-0, but Newton was Superman that season. He led Auburn to a 28-27 comeback win, snapping a 20-game home win streak for the Crimson Tide.
Bama also deserves a lot of credit for ratcheting up the stadium energy with the lights, audio and video boards they’ve added over the years. It can feel like a pretty mind-scrambling experience when they got rolling.
3. Penn State: Beaver Stadium
The Nittany Lions’ White Out games are deafening. Penn State usually saves it for the toughest matchup of the season, although with Fox’s recent “Big Noon” strategy factoring into Big Ten scheduling, sometimes it doesn’t end up that way.
The Nittany Lions have won six of their past seven prime-time White Outs, with six of those being against ranked opponents — including the 2016 win over No. 2 Ohio State. The lone defeat was against No. 4 Ohio State by one point, 27-26, in 2018. Last year, Penn State shut out No. 24 Iowa, 31-0.
But I can speak from experience that it’s not just the White Outs that make this place special. The atmosphere last November when No. 3 Michigan visited Happy Valley was the loudest noon kickoff game I can remember in the last decade — louder than any other “Big Noon” game I’ve been at — with almost 111,000 people in attendance. Michigan, which had the most experienced team in the country in 2023, did win that game, 24-15.
4. Ohio State: Ohio Stadium
The Buckeyes have been the Big Ten’s most dominant program for a long time now, so whoever shows up usually is facing a stacked team with a more talented roster. Still, the Horseshoe is a towering building that feels much different, and more intimidating, than the Big House at archrival Michigan. The crowd comes in ready to break its opponent early and seems shocked if there’s anything other than a dominant Buckeyes showing.
5. Virginia Tech: Lane Stadium*
The asterisk is here because I’m thinking of what this place has been in the past, not necessarily what it’s been in recent years. I get it. The results recently indicate otherwise. As colleague Pete Sampson noted, The Hokies are 2-10 at home against Top 25 teams in the past decade, but when the Hokies are playing well, this place is unique. I’ve been here for a few Hokies beatdowns of top-10 teams where the place rocks. It has some Tiger Stadium vibes to it, and there’s something special to it as well.
It only takes the first two seconds of “Enter Sandman” to play and I get goosebumps. It happens every time, even more than a decade later. It immediately takes me back to how Lane Stadium comes alive like no other venue, in a different way than Camp Randall Stadium and “Jump Around.” That’s frenzied; this is more ominous.
It also perfectly fit with their style of play. Based primarily on their vaunted special teams, but also their aggressive defense, the Hokies were college football’s preeminent sudden-change/quick-strike team. It often felt like they were one big swing away from turning the game around or blowing it open.
There was a decade-plus of Hokie magic from the late ’90s into the 2000s in the peak Frank Beamer days where Lane was a chamber of horrors. In 1999, Virginia Tech faced three Top 25 teams — Syracuse, Miami and Boston College — and outscored them by a combined 143-24 at home. In 2002, Tech smashed Nick Saban’s No. 14 LSU squad, 26-8. The next year, a top-10 Hokies team hammered No. 2 Miami, 31-7. In 2004, the Hokies beat No. 6 West Virginia. In 2005, they beat up on No. 15 Georgia Tech and No. 13 Boston College by a combined score of 81-17. In 2009, Lane Stadium hosted successive top-20 wins over Nebraska and Miami.
If Brent Pry can get the Hokies rolling again, Lane will become an opponent’s worst nightmare.
6. Florida: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
In my experience, The Swamp isn’t quite in the category with LSU and Bama, but it is right there with Tennessee and Georgia when it comes to a big-time, true SEC heavyweight experiences. Being there in the ’90s in the Steve Spurrier days to see the Gators face FSU and Bobby Bowden was fantastic.
7. Tennessee: Neyland Stadium
In my first trip to Knoxville, I saw Tennessee play Georgia in the late ’90s. The Vols were really rolling back then, and I got to be on the field in the end zone behind the Dawgs’ offense when they were backed up inside their own 10. I couldn’t even hear the person next to me. It was a sea of orange, and it’s easy to see why so many Top 25 teams have got thumped there over the years when UT was riding high. Georgia was No. 13 that day and lost to the Vols, 38-13.
Autzen Stadium punches above its weight in crowd noise. (Tom Hauck / Getty Images)
8. Oregon: Autzen Stadium
I remember one rival staffer telling me that they must pump in noise in practice the week before they face the Ducks. It doesn’t seem like a place that size — seating 54,000 — can be that loud. It just didn’t make sense to him. But in a matchup of top 10 teams, the Ducks pounded their visitors by almost three touchdowns.
Autzen Stadium is also a place where you can see almost every kind of weather imaginable in the same day. Oregon has been great there for a long time and has defeated 31 of its past 32 opponents at Autzen.
9. Georgia: Sanford Stadium
I remember seeing a good Boise State team come in there ranked No. 18 against No. 13 Georgia in 2005. The Broncos just came unglued and looked overwhelmed, losing 48-13. It was 38-0 before the Broncos settled down. Jared Zabransky, who was a really good QB for Boise State, had his first two passes intercepted and turned it over six times in the first half.
It doesn’t feel like it’s been any easier for visitors now that the Dawgs are even more talented. UGA has won 13 consecutive games against Top 25 opponents at Sanford Stadium.
10. Texas A&M: Kyle Field
I’ve been there when the press box shakes. Kyle Field is an awesome building that gets really, really loud, and opponents complain that their sidelines smell like horse manure. My first trip for a game was Johnny Manziel’s debut against Florida. He was dynamic. The building shook. A&M lost, though. That’s why Kyle Field is not higher on my list, even if it’s No. 1 in EA Sports’ rankings.
When A&M has been really good, the Aggies have still struggled at home more than they should. Manziel led them to a win at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2012, but the next year, as wild as it felt to be in Kyle Field for the rematch, A&M lost.
(Top photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
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Russell Wilson and Sean Payton spent just one NFL season together, but tension lingered after a rocky year.
And it appears the tension that built up from that tumultuous stretch continues to linger.
Wilson’s interview on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast, recorded before last month’s Super Bowl between Seattle and New England, recently resurfaced.
In the interview, Wilson doubled down on his October comment labeling Payton “classless,” saying he felt slighted by his former coach’s remarks.
Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks to quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline during an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium Aug. 11, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
“[When] you’ve been on the same side or this and that, and I got the same amount of rings as you got, meaning Sean, right?” said Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks as Payton did coaching for the New Orleans Saints.
“I got a lot of respect for him as a play-caller, this and that, but to take a shot, I don’t like. I don’t think it’s necessary, you know, I mean, especially when I’m not even on your own team anymore. So, for me, there’s a point in time where you have to, I’ve realized, I’ve stayed quiet for so long. There’s a there’s a time and place where I’m not.
“I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, too, and, you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been on the same place and the same thing. And so, it’s not a matter of disrespect. Just don’t disrespect me.”
Sean Payton and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos during an a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High Nov. 19, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
After a rocky one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, Wilson joined the New York Giants last offseason. However, he was relegated to a backup role after just three games.
Rookie Jaxson Dart quickly showed promise once he had the chance to start, but his season was briefly derailed by injury. Jameis Winston — not Wilson — stepped in for Dart in a handful of games. Dart threw three touchdowns in a Week 7 matchup with the Broncos, nearly pulling off an upset in what was eventually a close loss.
After the game, Payton said Dart provided a “spark” to the Giants’ offense.
“I was talking to [Giants owner] John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game,’” Payton said.
The New York Giants’ Russell Wilson attempts to escape a sack by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) in the first half of a game Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Payton also said the Broncos would have faced less of a challenge had Wilson been under center.
“Classless … but not surprised,” Wilson responded in a social media post. “Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later though the media.”
Despite last season’s struggles and chatter about his football future, Wilson does not appear ready to call it quits in 2026.
“I wanna play a few more years for sure,” he said. “I think, for me, I’ve always had the vision of getting to 40, at least. I think the game is different. Quarterbacks, we get hit. It’s not, you know, we get hit hard, but … there’s certain rules. I mean, back in the day when I started, bro, it was you just get [clobbered].
“I mean, so I feel like the game allows you to, you know, live a little longer, I guess. I feel healthy. I feel great. But I think, more than anything else is, do you love the game? Do you love studying? Do you love the passion for it all? Do you love the process? Do you love the practice? Do you love — everybody loves the winning part of it, but it’s process. There’s a journey that you got to be obsessed with. And that part I’m obsessed with.”
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The early rounds of the BNP Paribas Open began Wednesday, with top seeds slated to start play Friday during the 12-day ATP and WTPA Master 1000 tournament.
A busy stretch of the tennis season reaches another gear at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.
While many consider it the “fifth Grand Slam” because of its elite player field, amenities and equal prize money for men and women, professionals acknowledge the tournament is part of a stressful stretch on the tennis calendar.
Indian Wells is followed by the Miami Open, another two-week Master 1000 tournament. The tour stops are known as the “Sunshine Double.”
Some players made the short trip from Indian Wells to Las Vegas this past weekend to participate in the MGM Grand Slam, an exhibition designed to help players ramp up for back-to-back tournaments.
American Reilly Opelka, a 6-foot–11 pro, said managing fatigue after a series of tournaments before hitting Indian Wells has altered his practice and play in exhibition matches, including a loss to 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in Las Vegas.
“Normally in any kind of competition, you get excited and play with a pressure point … but you don’t feel this when you are practicing,” Opelka said.
“I was trying to feel like this a few days ago while practicing with … [Tommy Paul,] but instead we got tired and hungry. … That usually doesn’t happen. We just decided to stop and go to eat somewhere.”
Paul said despite the decision to cut practice short, he feels fresh for the upcoming events.
“I started the year pretty well and for Americans, we are excited for the Sunshine Double,” Paul said.
Casper Rudd lost to Opelka during the first round of the Las Vegas exhibition. The Norwegian also lost a week ago during the first round of the Acapulco Open, falling to Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu in straight sets.
Rudd said he felt “extremely tired” after the Australian Open in January.
Rancho Palo Verdes resident Taylor Fritz, ranked No. 7 in the world, said the best way to prepare yourself for grueling tour schedule is “putting [in] the time, work and repetition.”
“… Be there, be focused on the quality that you are doing,” said Fritz, a 28-year-old who won the Indian Wells title in 2022.
While some players are guarding against burnout, others struggled to even reach California. Some players who live in Dubai, including Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, have to contend with closed airspace triggered by the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran.
The ATP announced Wednesday that, “the vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights.”
Sports
Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit
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A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.
Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.
Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.
“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.
(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
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SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
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