Camp Randall is the hardest B1G road trip

[Excel]

Fair enough. They do have a sizeable home advantage not withstanding everything else they've got going on.

 

Anyhow moving back to the Big Ten I find MSU's improved record (2000-2006 v 2007-2011) to be quite impressive. It's really a testament to the skill of Dantonio. I also think Illinois is one good coach away from being a power but that's a broader topic.

 

PSU's record, while not stunning to begin with, is sure to fall in coming years. Will that stadium be as electric as it once was anytime soon?

[WoodyHayes1951]

Illinois needs a different mindset and not just a coach. They are the flagship school in a high population state with decent hs football and their alumni are content with mediocrity.

 

It won't change without a change in mindset from their wealthy alumni(and they have plenty)

[Decked]

Memorial Stadium Indiana..

[NUance]

How many Trojan fans, and I mean fans, not t-shirt/sidewalk alumni, do you all actually know?

 

I don't know a single one.

I know two

Naw, USC has a decent following out in LA. Not like the Lakers, or even the Dodgers. But there are a lot of Trojan fans out in LA. The thing is, LA folk seldom move to the Midwest. So not many Trojan fans out in the heartland.

[Moiraine]

How many Trojan fans, and I mean fans, not t-shirt/sidewalk alumni, do you all actually know?

 

I don't know a single one.

I know two

Naw

 

You calling me a liar??

 

(I'm guessing your reply was meant for Bucky)

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

It is very impressive how large of a portion of Wisconsin's crowd was young people

 

Part of that is how many they allow. Nebraska's student section limit is the smallest percentage (per stadium capacity) in the big 10. It's 11,000 if I'm remembering correctly.

HA. I'm pretty sure it's like 8500. 11,000 would be a pipedream!

[NUance]

How many Trojan fans, and I mean fans, not t-shirt/sidewalk alumni, do you all actually know?

 

I don't know a single one.

I know two

Naw

 

You calling me a liar??

 

(I'm guessing your reply was meant for Bucky)

 

Naw, my reply was meant for Bucky. I just thought it would be rude to skip over you and cut you out of the conversation.

 

I usually don't call someone a liar unless I've been drinking. And I generally don't start drinking at 6:40 am. Unless it's continuing from the night before.

[Moiraine]

How many Trojan fans, and I mean fans, not t-shirt/sidewalk alumni, do you all actually know?

 

I don't know a single one.

I know two

Naw

 

You calling me a liar??

 

(I'm guessing your reply was meant for Bucky)

 

Naw, my reply was meant for Bucky. I just thought it would be rude to skip over you and cut you out of the conversation.

 

I usually don't call someone a liar unless I've been drinking. And I generally don't start drinking at 6:40 am. Unless it's continuing from the night before.

 

I never stop drikming

[NUance]

I never stop drikming

Yes, I believe you.

[Muck]

Part of the reason I dislike USC is the apathy (or non-existence) of their fan base. A team with as much success and history as they have and with few competitors in the area shouldn't have ~30,000 empty seats at the opening game of the season like they did last year.

 

When I was stationed at Pendleton in the early 90's we would always try to make it to a local(ish) game each Sat in the fall. We soon discovered that if you got to the Coliseum after kickoff they would literally let you walk in for free as the stadium was rarely more than half full.

 

Naw, USC has a decent following out in LA. Not like the Lakers, or even the Dodgers. But there are a lot of Trojan fans out in LA. The thing is, LA folk seldom move to the Midwest. So not many Trojan fans out in the heartland.

 

Only when they are winning. A couple of down years and that following will evaporate faster than ice cream on a carrier flight deck at the equator.

[Excel]

I've known one diehard USC fan my whole life, grew up in Atlanta, never been to CA and had zero connections to the state or school.

 

Known plenty of Cal fans through the Military which I always found odd.

 

 

[NUance]

I've known one diehard USC fan my whole life, grew up in Atlanta, never been to CA and had zero connections to the state or school.

 

Known plenty of Cal fans through the Military which I always found odd.

I knew a bunch of USC fans. I lived there. Well, I didn't actually live in the ghetto that is USC. But in LA.

[GM_Tood]

I would move Lane Stadium considerably higher than #11. Out of the 4 stadiums I've been at away games to in the top 11 I'd put Va Tech ahead of the other 3. (OU, PSU, Wisc)

[Count 'Bility]

I know this is by today's standards but something like has way too much bearing on the strength of the team itself. from the middle of 1991, Nebraska only lost one home game through 2001. Just one. Does that make Memorial Stadium-Lincoln the toughest of the 90's? Is it even mentioned in this poll? The team was down and so was home field advantage. How hard was Camp Randall to play at in 1986? So to me the home field advantage is far too related to the team itself.

[Excel]

I think a good measure is comparing how teams do at home against how they do on the road.

 

Wisconsin Badgers (2004-2011)

at home: 50-4, 0.926

away: 24-16, 0.600

 

Nebraska Cornhuskers (1986-2001)

at home: 100-5, 0.952

away: 58-15-1, 0.791

 

So clearly the Badgers benefit from playing at home now more than the Huskers of old did. I'd say that, in some ways, means they have a better home-field advantage than NU did but its arguable.

 

If we're going purely off of records, OU, PSU and Wisconsin all have done better at home recently than VT. That doesn't necessarily mean they have a more powerful homefield advantage or that their stadiums are better or anything (Sandman at VT is awesome) but it is what it is. Just as a side, as a fan, I'd much rather go to home games at any of the other three than at VT, playing teams like they do in the ACC can be a snore and their out of conference scheduling often doesn't improve that slate.

 

2004-2011

 

OU: 47-2, 0.959

UW: 50-4, 0.926

OSU: 49-7, 0.875

VT: 46-8, 0.852