The 10 Most Hostile Stadiums in College Football

Every stadium can claim to be the most hostile venue in college football—don't we all want to be the 12th man? Who doesn’t want to make opposing quarterbacks shake and look like a deer in headlights, watch wide receivers cup their hands to their ears in confusion as they try to hear the quarterback's signals, or watch a coach burn a timeout due to the play not getting sent in on time?

Yep, all stadiums get loud and distracting during rivalry games or games of high importance, but do they stay that way when the team is down? Some stadiums get awfully quiet when the home team isn't up to snuff.

These 10 stadiums harbor the loudest, most fearsome fans in the country every week, and their stadium showcases them. No matter what team they play, the stadium's acoustics seem to reverberate a decibel level close to ear-shattering.

These ten stadiums are what nightmares are made of.

10. Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

It technically holds 80,795 people, but it's usually standing room only on game days. It's not that the stadium is huge; it's not. It's the whole Irish mystique that seems to infiltrate the stadium and hold opposing teams hostage to mysterious ball bounces, strange calls, timekeeper's miscues, and extra chances to score.

Above anything else, the sidelines tend to get more and more crowded in the 4th quarter. The feeling of fans being on top them overwhelms opposing teams. The world seems to be crashing down on them. And usually, it is.

9. Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

Memorial Stadium holds the NCAA record for most consecutive sellouts and while the fans haven't had much to cheer about lately, they still show up in droves to support the team.

In fact, Lincoln isn't the most populated city in Nebraska, but its population swells so much on Saturdays, it becomes one of the most populated cities in Nebraska on game day. And one formidable place to play.

While night games in Nebraska are few and far between, there is nothing like them in Memorial Stadium—the stillness of the air seems to amplify every scream, every cheer, and every foot stomping in the stands. It's un-nerving.

Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

It's the Big House, and it's big. In fact, it's the biggest. This behemoth cavern of hell for visiting teams holds over 106,000 screaming maize and blue-clad fans.

The bad news for visiting teams is that it's going to get bigger with some expansion going on. In fact, the construction has seemed to make the acoustics even louder than normal.

Just ask the Fighting Irish.

7. Clemson Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina

They're noisy and rabid, and they are not SEC fans? This ACC stadium is truly a spectacle to behold when it comes to noise and theatrics. Howard's Rock, the running down the hill and the non-stop cheering is enough for most visiting fans to bring earplugs to the stadium.

The proliferation of orange everywhere you look makes the whole thing dizzying.

6. Ohio "The Shoe" Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

The Shoe has to be on this list for the simple fact that its record during the Tressel era has been outstanding, a paltry seven losses. Seven defeats in nine years?

Over 102,000 screaming fans seem to bring out the worst in visiting teams.

5. Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Recipe for hell:

Mix 92,400 fans with eight hours of tailgating, hard-drinking fans. Blend in funky costumes, purple and gold anything, more alcohol. Whip into frenzy. Serve amazing food up on a silver platter to a late afternoon or night game crowd. Then scream at them for four hours.

Pray for survival.

4. Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania

Beaver Stadium doesn’t get as much attention as conference foes Ohio Stadium and Michigan Stadium, but it should. The tailgating is incredible here, and while a visiting team's fans think it’s idyllic, things change inside the stadium.

They have that whiteout thing down pat, and it's a reminder of how outnumbered you are. Then there is that classic, "We are...Penn State" yell which becomes something like an alien fighting for freedom from your body—your entire being is shocked into submission and you just want to flee.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, "The Swamp", Gainesville, Florida

Steve Spurrier nicknamed it “The Swamp" for good reason: it's hot and humid and inhospitable for most living things. It's where dreams die, and hopes wilt. It's home to two BCS National Championships and Tim Tebow's Superman cape.

It's also where the Gators give opposing fans a beatdown with yells, jeers, and the Gator-chop. You simply don't want to sit in front of any Florida fan at this stadium—they don't have alligator arms when they do the chop.

They'll reach you and harass you.

2. Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

There is just no other way to put it: The state of Tennessee has some of the most gracious fans in football, but the "Rocky Top" singing gets on your nerves. Big time.

The stadium is always packed and you swear they are hanging from the top tier. Razed, orange-clad, and singing "Rocky Top" at least 75 times in four hours.

You can literally go insane here.

1. Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon

Colorful, zany, crazed and....hang on now...proud owners of the loudest recorded college football stadium in the country- give it up to the Oregon Ducks and Autzen Stadium.

College Gameday recorded an almost-ear-shattering 127.2 decibel level of noise October 27, 2007 when the Ducks played the Trojans. 130, by the way, is considered the threshold of pain, and equivalent to a jet engine in your ear.

Autzen is so deceiving because it is so small- only 56,000 fans can fit into this torture chamber. It's intimate as well, you are literally sitting on your neighbor's lap. But any question of a visiting team having a pleasant experience in Autzen will be dashed the second the Ducks take the field.

Lloyd Carr called Autzen the loudest stadium ever, and he's played at the Big House and The Shoe. It's simply a garish green nightmare for Ducks' opponents.