The 25 Toughest College Football Stadiums for Visiting Teams

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Playing at any stadium other than your own is always a bit intimidating. 

But some places inspire nightmares in those unlucky enough to find themselves there.

These are the best-defended home stadiums in the country with the winning percentages to prove it. Some places are terrifying due to their enormous size. Others are able to scare their opponents despite not being the largest.

What are these horrifying stadiums for opposing teams? Read on.

No. 25: Sanford Stadium, Georgia

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 77.4

Maybe it's the hedges at Sanford Stadium that makes playing the Bulldogs at home so difficult. Then again, it might be Uga roaming the sidelines or the spirit of great Georgia teams of the past. 

Either way, Sanford Stadium is a great and terrible place to play if you don't play for Georgia.

No. 24: Retschler Field, UConn

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 78.1

UConn may not be the most impressive team to go to a BCS Bowl in recent years, but their impressive home record is the way they got to a big bowl in the first place. The Huskies make sure to give all their visitors a proper Connecticut welcome.

No. 23: Huskie Stadium, Northern Illinois

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 78.6

No one in the MAC is better at protecting their home field than the Northern Illinois Huskies.

That may not seem too impressive, but any team that can manage to win more than three quarters of their home games has my respect. 

No. 22: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 78.9

Playing against the Auburn Tigers is scary enough, but watching the War Eagle swoop around Jordan-Hare Stadium is a majestic and awe-inspiring sight.

T-No. 20: Boone Pickens Stadium, Oklahoma State

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5-Year Winning Percentage: 79.4

When you have a stadium named after one of the biggest oil tycoons in T. Boone Pickens, it better be one of the most intimidating places to play.

Not to mention that Oklahoma State has one of the most high-powered offenses in the country. If teams are going to beat the Cowboys at home, they better be prepared for a shootout. 

T-No. 20: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 79.4

Long ago, Kirk Ferentz decided to get into his opponents' heads in a rather unorthodox matter. So, besides having to prepare for the Hawkeye players and home crowd, visiting teams also must deal with the dreaded pink visitor's locker room.

Oh, the indignities of playing in Kinnick Stadium.

No. 19: Memorial Stadium, Clemson

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 80.0

Home of the "Most Exciting 30 Seconds in College Football," Clemson's Death Valley has some of the best traditions in the country. Howard's Rock presides over it all with regal glory. 

Watching the Tigers run down the hill may be enough make opposing team think twice about playing Clemson at home.

No. 18: Beaver Stadium, Penn State

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 80.6

Beaver Stadium and Happy Valley won't be the same without Joe Paterno roaming the sidelines. But I wouldn't underestimate the Penn State faithful. 

One of the few stadiums that can boast a capacity of more than 100,000, Beaver Stadium is the fourth-largest stadium by population in Pennsylvania during Penn State games.

No. 17: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 82.1

Those who visit the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium can expect a nippy reception. Cincinnati just might be the toughest place to play in the Big East with West Virginia headed out the door.

T-No. 15: Spartan Stadium, Michigan State

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 82.9

Michigan's "Big House" may be bigger, but Spartan Stadium has been a tougher place to play these days. "Little Brother" or no, it is the Spartans who protect their home turf better than the Wolverines.

T-No. 15: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 82.9

Florida may not be the juggernaut that they were just a few years back, but the last place you want to face the Gators is in the Swamp.

You just might end up as Gator bait.

T-No. 13: Robertson Stadium, Houston

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 83.3

I hope that the Big East doesn't take playing in Robertson Stadium lightly. They'll find, like many others who pay Houston a visit, that playing the Cougars at home is no day at the beach.

T-13: Faurot Field, Missouri

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 83.3

Missouri's new conference better not take winning at Faurot Field for granted. The Tigers love the fact that they're joining the SEC, and they're going to give all of their new conference mates a proper Missouri welcome.

No. 12: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, West Virginia

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 85.3

Mountaineer Field was the most intimidating place to play in the Big East, and members of the Big 12 are going to find that it's certainly not a place to take lightly. Home to some of the rowdiest fans in college football, no opposing team can get an easy win against West Virginia at home.

T-No. 10: Tiger Stadium, LSU

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5-Year Winning Percentage: 87.5 

There's a reason why Tiger Stadium is called "Death Valley." Most players would rather face the dentist than LSU at night in Tiger Stadium.

And don't forget that the fans have set off so much vibrations once that they showed up on a seismograph as an earthquake. 

T-No. 10: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 85.7

The SEC is home to many of the most terrifying venues in college sports, but no team protects their home better than the Crimson Tide.

Many a team have had their hopes of winning a championship dashed here and heard Alabama fans taunt them with their famous "Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer."

No. 9: Ohio Stadium, Ohio State University

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 86.1

Although the Buckeyes are on probation this season, most teams would much rather be anywhere other than the dreaded Horseshoe. Ohio Stadium is still one of the most unwelcoming places for any visiting team to visit.

No. 8: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Utah

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 86.7

The University of Utah is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Because of the world coming to Salt Lake, the Utes got an Olympic-grade stadium.

And they defend their home turf well.

No. 7: LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU

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5-Year Home Win Percentage: 87.1 Percent

LaVell Edwards Stadium is the largest not affiliated with an automatic qualifier conference. In the heart of the Wasatch Mountains, it is one of the most beautiful places to catch a football game.

And don't let the fact that BYU is the No. 1 Stone Cold Sober University according to the Princeton Review fool you: Cougar fans can get as loud as any in the country.

No. 6: Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 87.5

Exit light, enter night.

Lane Stadium is a nightmarish place for an opposing team to find themselves, highlighted by the playing of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" as Virginia Tech takes the field. 

And under Frank Beamer, the Hokies don't lose at home.

No. 5: Auzten Stadium, Oregon

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5-Year Home Win Percentage: 88.2

While Autzen Stadium may be not be as big a those in the Big Ten or the SEC, it is one of the loudest. Against USC in 2007, the crowd of nearly 60,000 strong recorded a noise level of 127.2 decibels.

That's louder than most rock concerts.

I wonder if the Duck has to wear earplugs...

No. 4: Camp Randall Stadium, Wisconsin

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 91.4

The mere idea of 80,321 fans getting up and jumping around to the House of Pain's "Jump Around" is intimidating in and of itself. These Badgers ferociously defend their home turf, making Camp Randall Stadium the most intimidating place to play in the Big Ten.

No. 3: Amon G. Carter Stadium, TCU

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5-Year Home Win Percentage: 93.3

TCU is putting some big money into Amon G. Carter Stadium now that they're moving into the Big 12. After some expansion TCU can now fit 50,000 screaming fans into their improved stadium.

It's a good start, but they'll need to add even more seats to compete with the great Big 12 powers as far as size is concerned.

But one thing that TCU does well at home is win. Between 2008 and 2010, Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs didn't drop a single home game.

No. 2: Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Oklahoma

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5-Year Home Winning Percentage: 96.8

It has been a while since the Sooners won a national championship, but there's one place that Oklahoma doesn't choke often, and that's at home.

They've only lost one game in the last five years.

No. 1: Bronco Stadium, Boise State

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5-Year Home Win Percentage: 96.9

At 37,000, Bronco Stadium may not be the largest stadium on this list, but it is certainly the most feared in the country.

In the last five years, the Broncos have lost only won game at home, and that was this season against TCU.

And there's just something about the "Smurf Turf" that just drives opposing teams mad. Maybe it's the fact that it's the only bright blue field in college football...