Ranking the Pac-10 Football Student Sections By Size

The student section is the heart of every crowd in college football. Whether the team is winning or losing, the students choose tradition over all other factors.

Arriving hours before kickoff to tailgate and partake in their favorite drinking games, these students are aimed at being pumped up for the game. Most of them lining up in outside the stadium two hours beforehand to obtain the best seats in the designated section.

The students bring a sense to the game that other fans cannot. Their youthful, unbridled spirit can lift the whole crowd with them.

The fact is, the more students you have, the better the crowd.

Here is a look at each Pac-10 school's student section, ranking them in order of total capacity.

No. 10 Stanford Cardinal

Stanford reserves 3,500 seats for "The Red Zone" student section in the west corner of the stadium.

Sports Illustrated did a national poll recently on the demeanor of Pac-10 crowds, in which the Stanford fans (including students) were the most polite to visiting teams. Good or bad? That's up to you.

Due to the limited seating for students, the school has implemented a loyalty point system in which the most frequent attendees are guaranteed tickets to big games late in the season.

No. 9 Oregon Ducks

Autzen Stadium is arguably the loudest and most intimidating stadium in all of college football.

With 5,500 seats reserved for students in the corner of the stadium, it is guaranteed to get loud and rowdy.

No. 8 Oregon State Beavers

Located on the east side line and south end zone in Reser Stadium, the Beavers reserve 6,000 seats for students. With the steady success of the team, the student bleachers are always packed to the brim.

The Civil War game against rival Oregon is the hardest for the students to get into with the limited seating, this is where their devotion to the team plays a factor. Students who attend the first five home games are put at the head of the line for seating in the student section, compared to those who just show up for the rivalry game. A smart move by the school.

No. 7 Washington Huskies

The University of Washington Huskies have a student section of 6,200 devoted students. The Dawg Pound or Dawg Pack, as it is sometimes called, is located on the west end zone.

This is a fairly good number to add to one of the loudest stadiums in the country, and not to mention one of the most scenic views of the nearby lake.

No. 6 California Golden Bears

Memorial Stadium sets off 7,000 seats for UC Berkeley students.

The Cal student section runs along the sideline from the 35 of one end down to the 10 of the opposite end of the field, making for great seats.

No. 5 Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State reserves approximately 9,000 seats for the student section each game. The Southeast upper and lower corner is a sea of gold.

Sun Devil students are unlike the majority of all the other fans in that they pack the student section near capacity every game, regardless of their back-to-back losing seasons.

No. 4 UCLA Bruins

Filling up the Rose Bowl is a hard task to do, and add the fact that the UCLA campus is 28 mile drive away only makes it a bit more difficult.

UCLA reserves approximately 10,000 seats for the students section of the Rose Bowl. Although it may look small in comparison to the huge stadium, they always come to the game ready to bring the noise.

No. 3 Arizona Wildcats

The infamous "Zona Zoo" is the third largest student section in the Pac-10. Reserving the entire lower east sideline, endzone-to-endzone, packing in 10,000-plus every game.

Former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez quoted "Here and Oregon are the two toughest places I've played. Hats off to the crowd and the student section here."

The crowd may be loud and rowdy, but they have become famous for their "premature evacuation' of the stands last November against Oregon. With Rose Bowl hopes on the mind, the students thought the Wildcats had the win with one minute left, only to see Oregon get a touchdown to head into overtime, thus leaving no choice to return to their seats.

Now, not all the student section is to blame for the premature rush of the field. In fact, a lot of the students started chanting "It's your fault" at those students for the heartbreaking loss.

No. 2 Washington State Cougars

A great chunk of Martin Stadium is reserved for Cougar students, tying for first (with the next slide) with 12,000 seats.

Past losing seasons have taken a toll on Washington State's football attendance, including the student section.

Cougar students do get some great choices of vantage spots. Ranging from the end zone to the 50-yard, from lower to upper decks. It's all first come, first serve, so show up early for the primo seats.

No. 1 USC Trojans

The USC Trojans cap off 12,000 seats for the student section within The Coliseum.

The Trojan student section ties Washington State for the largest student section in the Pac-10, but USC wins the tiebreaker due to the fact that its section is always filled to the brim with their devoted students.