Rankings and lists can be subjective, but we still like to follow them. Cobble a bunch of them together, and if you believe bias is taken out of it all, a consensus should tell you something, right?
You’ve seen them, we’ve seen them, and your brother-in-law’s cousin-twice removed has seen a ranking of college football stadiums, but now we have a new one that we’ll take a little more stock in. That’s because it comes from Paul Myerberg with our mother ship at USA TODAY. He took a look at all of the Big Ten stadiums — 18 now (and maybe counting) — and ranked them from worst to first when it comes to “nastiest to kindest” for visitors.
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As you can imagine, Ohio Stadium, where Ohio State does its best work, gets a lot of love from Myerberg. Sure, the iconic venue and all its historical significance and mystique have something to do with it, but it has more to do with how hard it is to come out of there with a victory. Not only did Myerberg rank the ‘Shoe high on the list, he put it all the way at the top of the best stadiums in the Big Ten, at No. 1 overall.
But why?
“Trips to the Horseshoe are basically a guaranteed loss for teams in and out of the Big Ten, unless you’re Michigan. (The Wolverines have taken two in a row at home in the series.), wrote Myerberg. “Since the stadium opened in 1922, Ohio State has been dominant at home, including a remarkable 55-3 record (94.9%) since 2016. The Buckeyes have turned the ‘Shoe into maybe the most hostile locale in the sport.”
It’s true that Ohio Stadium is a tough place to play, but it has more to do with the team that resides there than how rabid the fanbase is. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard the ‘Shoe rocking when it’s a big game at night and other times when there’s a lot on the line in a close game, but there are times when fans in the “big ‘Ole Horseshoe” (said in my best Keith Jackson voice) seem disinterested. Still, the numbers don’t lie. It’s a tough, tough place to win.
Rounding out the top five on Myerberg’s list behind Ohio Stadium is Beaver Stadium (Penn State), Autzen Stadium (Oregon), Michigan Stadium (Michigan), and Husky Stadium (Washington). Yes, you saw that right. Two of the most recent teams to join the Big Ten from the West Coast are considered among the top five.
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For a complete list of Myerberg’s list, you can visit USA TODAY and scroll through the finished product yourself.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Where does Ohio Stadium fall in USA TODAY’s Big Ten stadium rankings?
