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I recently saw a thread on the internet that got me thinking - if you could play a night-game-only home-and-home series against one team, and then have the “best night game atmosphere” chosen by viewers, who would you pick and why?
My first thought was just inside the Big Ten . . . not Ohio State or Michigan, since frankly neither of those places really intimidates me (says the guy who will never step on the field of play in Columbus at night). After Penn State, I think the top two nighttime atmospheres in the B1G are Iowa and Wisconsin. The Kinnick Voodoo is real, and Wisconsin is known to be a crazy night atmosphere.
But we’ve already played those locations home-and-home, and I think PSU emerges as the clear night game victor for the Big Ten.
So who else throughout the country is supposed to be crazy at night? I have the following list in mind:
- Clemson
- Virginia Tech
- Georgia
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- USC
Some of these are more notable than others, but I think my top three would be Clemson, Virginia Tech, and LSU.
Clemson is the current national powerhouse, and though their stadium isn’t the biggest at 81,500, the entrance and the fierceness with with the team plays would make up for the missing 20-30K fans I think.
Virginia Tech is smaller still, at 66,233, but Enter the Sandman is supposed to be one of the top spectacles in college football.
Overall, though, I think my #1 choice would have to be LSU. First, they’re the current national champions. Second, their stadium comes close to PSU at 102,321. Third, they are routinely ranked as the toughest night venue in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
Of course, PSU does it better, but two games at night at Beaver Stadium and Death Valley, two top 10 opponents, a combined 200K+ fans? Count me in!
But what say you? Who would your dream night-game-only home-and-home opponent be?