The 5 Biggest Snubs to Home Field Rankings
Do you want your 2-star freshman QB playing at Autzen? Yeah, thought so.
If you're looking for a surefire way to rile up college football fans, just rank their favorite teams. And better yet, rank their fan bases.
That's exactly what EA Sports dared to do earlier this week, when it released rankings of the top 25 home-field advantages for the upcoming College Football 25 game, which is set to release July 19. Needless to say, the initial rankings generated more than a little controversy.
Texas A&M took the top spot ahead of Alabama and LSU, while Ohio State and Georgia rounded out the top five. The Big Ten and SEC filled out four of the next five spots, while Florida State was the lone ACC representative at ninth. You can find a full list of the top 25 on the game’s official site, but here’s a full look at the top 10:
According to EA, the development team considered factors like historical home win percentage and attendance, active home winning streaks and team prestige when setting these rankings. It’s also important to note that while these rankings set the baseline for every mode – including ones like Play Now – these will dynamically change for your dynasty based on team success.
So yes, even if your favorite team didn't crack the top 25, you can still benefit from a deafening crowd if you earn that respect on the field.
That said, these initial rankings will still play a massive role in every gamer’s experience come July, especially with the new home-field advantage mechanics likely mattering more than ever before. And it’s hard not to pick nits with these early rankings.
Initial reactions to top 25
First, let's address the elephant in the room: Kyle Field isn't the toughest place to play in college football, and it might not even be the toughest place to play in Texas.
Is it one of the coolest environments in college football? That’s a much easier argument to make and likely what the developers at EA Sports were going for here – as well as potentially juicing the profits from the Aggies' massive fan base, which certainly lives up to its reputation as the 12th Man.
Realistically, though, it's a lot harder to escape Baton Rouge or Happy Valley with a road win than it is to survive a trip to College Station. The only time that Texas A&M has featured an undefeated home record this century was in 2020, when most fans had to stay home. I saw more than one person jokingly say it's so hard to play at Kyle Field that even the Aggies can't win there. I think that pretty much says it all.
I'm also surprised that Autzen Stadium got left out of the top 10, especially given that Oregon owns the third-best home record (21-1) since 2020. Autzen isn’t as large as some of the other stadiums on this list, but the structure of the venue itself traps noise in a way that amplifies the volume on the field – once reaching a near-record 127 decibels in 2007.
One final note on the initial rankings: I’m glad to see Boise State get some love in the top 25. Is Albertsons Stadium one of the 25 toughest places to play for opposing teams? Probably not. But it’s an iconic venue in college football, and I don’t mind the folks at EA pumping the crowd noise a bit to help restore the magic of the Broncos’ program.
Of course, not every deserving school found its name on the initial list. Here are five schools that deserved a little more love from the folks at EA Sports:
1. Husky Stadium (Washington)
I was at Husky Stadium in October when Washington outlasted rival Oregon in one of the best games of the entire 2023 college football season. And I have a hard time believing it wasn’t one of the 25 best atmospheres in the country.
The Huskies haven’t lost at home since 2021, and their home stadium once reached noise levels of 133.6 decibels in 1992, which stood as the all-time record until Tennessee’s crowd broke it last year. For reference, anything above 120 is dangerous to the ear; good luck to visiting teams in Washington’s debut season in the Big Ten.
2. Boone Pickens Stadium (Oklahoma State)
Stillwater has long been where Big 12 title hopes go to die. That’s a testament to the program Mike Gundy has built at Oklahoma State, but it’s also a nod to this team’s strong home-field advantage.
The Cowboys have boasted a 19-2 record at home over the last three seasons, tied for the seventh-best mark in the country and the best by any team not included in EA’s initial rankings. Frankly, I was as surprised to see this stadium omitted as I was about Husky Stadium, though it shouldn’t take long to build up either’s stature in dynasty mode.
3. L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium (Louisville)
This may come as a surprise to those who haven’t followed closely, but no team has exceeded expectations at home more than Louisville in recent years.
Since 2020, the Cardinals have outperformed the betting market in home games by a wider margin than any team in college football, winning 19 of 26 games by an average of 15.1 points. They’ve covered the spread by 8.2 points per game, tops among FBS programs, which speaks to just how much home-field advantage matters to Jeff Brohm’s program.
4. Reser Stadium (Oregon State)
Reser Stadium has been a house of horrors for West Coast powers over the years, with the likes of USC, Washington and Oregon meeting untimely fates in the rural confines of Corvallis.
Even with Oregon State featuring mid-tier roster talent for years, the Beavers have quietly boasted the 12th-best home record (16-2) and best margin against the spread (+9.6) over the last three years, and their recent renovations should make for an even more difficult environment for opposing teams. When the clouds start pouring and the chainsaws are roaring? Watch out.
5. Floyd Stadium (Middle Tennessee)
Let’s show some love to the little guys, eh? In a study from 1989 to 2021, one site found Middle Tennessee to feature the best home-field advantage in college football. The Raiders have since remodeled their stadium and subsequently posted the sixth-best margin against the spread (+5.8) over the last three seasons.
Look, is it tougher to win here than at a packed Power Five venue? Probably not. But if you’re looking for an under-the-radar program to start a dynasty with and eventually pack the house after tearing through conference play, look no further than Murfreesboro.
C Jackson Cowart is a Featured Columnist for Four Verts: An EA Sports College Football 25 Substack. He's an award-winning sports writer, reporter, and editor with a decade of experience in the industry with previous stops including ESPN, Forbes, theScore, Action Network, Sporting News, and Sportsbook Review. He's also an avid video game player who still talks about the time he threw a perfect game in Triple-A in MLB: The Show. You can follow him on Twitter (X) @CJacksonCowart.