The Hybrid: Every Big Ten Football Stadium, Not Ranked

By Bobby Loesch on October 6, 2022 at 12:00 pm @bobbystompy
O-H-I-O
Bobby Loesch
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The Hybrid is a definitely dead college football preview column back for one week only

After my first ever trip to The Shoe this past weekend, can now (somewhat) proudly say I have been to every Big Ten football stadium.

Completion of this goal came at a good time, as I've been sitting on 49 states and 29 MLB stadiums for a bit now, so it was pretty satisfying to finally close the loop on something that took 20+ years to complete.

My natural inclination, having a dumb sports brain, is to rank them. But I am fighting that urge and aiming for nuance.

Come on -- can you at least say what the best one was?

Yes and no.

I would say the best four are these four, no order: Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State.

Iowa and Sconnie are a lot more about atmosphere and crowd, while Penn State/Michigan are a lot more about the vast spectacle. It's really hard to compare those two styles. I'm also aware of my Iowa/Michigan biases, as I've been to Kinnick/The Big House wayyyyy more than most of the other stadiums. While Penn State fans might say also throw the crowd hat in the ring, I wasn't there for a white out. My guess is the PSU stadium + a white out could be the best the Big Ten's got. Michigan is the biggest, PSU is right there, Kinnick is the loudest, and Wisconsin has, by far, the wildest fucking fans.

Most underrated?

Gotta go with Indiana! It's No. 11 in size, but, if they had an elite program, it could almost be like one of those pain in the ass basketball arenas where the crowd just carries their favorite team. We went in 2010 for a mid-afternoon kickoff, and as the sun started to set near our end zone in the fourth quarter... it was a real moment.

Where Are My Hoosiers

(now just add people)

Iowa coming back and winning 18-13 on a Stanzi-to-McNutt TD with less than three minutes left didn't hurt either.

Biggest surprise?

Honestly, The Shoe. Really thought it would be, no questions asked, top tier, and it just... wasn't. That's not to say it was bad -- it was still very good. Easily right behind the four we talked about above, but it still lacked... something.

Maybe that's what it was -- the playing Rutgers combined with the stadium being 100 years old. It's still big, it's still good... but it ain't threatening the top dogs, either.

 
 
 
 
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There's bad news though, isn't there?

Yes.

Hit me.

You sure?

I'm sure.

After my recent visit, I think I officially have -- /gulp -- Columbus, Ohio, as my (objectively) favorite college town, passing Iowa City/Ann Arbor/Madison. While those three have the comparably awesome university/gameday feels, Columbus is just bigger and has more artillery for the fight. The walkable Short North neighborhood, just south of the stadium, gives it a big city feel that most other Big Ten towns can't offer.

Would I go to IC/Madison/Ann Arbor over Columbus 10 times out of 10 now that I've been there once? But of course.

Northwestern is definitely the worst, right?

Northwestern is definitely the worst. It is small, the fans are jarringly indifferent, and, if I'm not mistaken, you can't walk the stadium in a full circle, so getting around is very annoying.

That said!

Though it catches a lot of shit for being a high school stadium... I really don't mind going there. As a Chicago resident, it's the only local-ish spot we got. Beggars/choosers/etc. Plus Evanston itself is pretty gorgeous:

Evanston

What are some funny things that happened?

Does roping my East Coast/non-Big Ten family into Rutgers and Maryland games qualify?

2018:

 
 
 
 
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2017:

 
 
 
 
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In 2011, we watched Matt Barkley's USC team beat Minnesota, 19-17. It was Week 1 but somehow freezing; still beautiful and sunny though; just pretty crisp.

TCF Bank Stadium
Bobby and Dave

One of my favorite individual performances was in 2005 watching MSU QB Drew Stanton light Illinois the fuck up (5 TDs, 20-26 passing) in a 61-14 rout... in Champaign.

Mikey Dudek making Illinois bowl eligible on the last game of the season vs. Northwestern ruled.

 
 
 
 
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Ooh, also was at Iowa-Nebraska 2013 in Lincoln. Went with my stepdad (Huskers fan).

FARMAGEDDON

The Hawkeyes shut out Nebraska in the first quarter, so their fans had to hold the balloons* the whole time (hahaha). Iowa eventually won 38-17 (yes, there was a time where we could score 38 points in a game; shouts Jake Rudock, Mark Weisman, Kevonte Martin-Manley, and a garbage time CJB rushing TD).

(* - whoa, they had to halt the tradition this season due to a "global helium shortage"!)

Yes. Iowa. This is an Iowa blog. Talk more about Kinnick.

Fine, but you're not gonna like most of it. Three games stand out above all others, for me personally.

3) Was at the 2005 game where Michigan ended Iowa's 22-game home winning streak

A Man With Two Countries

Wore black to support the Hawkeye blackout with a Michigan hoodie underneath (never displayed) because I am a horrible person. Leaving the stadium after the invincibility shield was disabled? Not fun. Really felt like we could beat anyone there until then. Michigan earned it, though, pushing Iowa to OT.

2) Iowa-Ohio State 2006. We had the atmosphere, we had GameDay... and we had not much else. In a battle of unbeatens, No. 1 Ohio State took out No. 13 Iowa, 38-17. It never, ever felt close. I just remember the hopeless feeling of knowing their better was better than our better. Troy Smith's first of many Heisman moments.

But I'll also remember the hopeful feeling; tailgating all day, sprinting into the stadium, sitting in the seats for an hour plus, waiting for kickoff, just taking in the music, the perpetually multiplying crowd, and buzz of everything.

Even got my picture in the paper:

Against The Grain

Your boy is on the left. Everyone else wanted front row, but my buddies and I liked to post up right above that entrance for the unobstructed view. Sometimes, ya gotta zag.

Your memories suck -- say something good.

Fair!

OK, my No. 1 memory of Kinnick... Penn State 2008.

The Nittany Lions, undefeated and ranked No. 3, fell to Iowa, 24-23. It is the only time I've ever rushed the field; ironically, the first season after I actually graduated. Sadly no pics, as it was in that weird "I don't have an iPhone yet, but I'm not with anyone who has a digital camera" zone.

Also: bless you, Shonn Greene.

This I like. Say more good stuff about Iowa.

You got it. Favorite road win: Michigan State 2012.

Just a cold, rainy, slog of the game. And it wasn't just the weather. Iowa was down 7-0 after the first quarter, and 10-3 at halftime. After no scoring in the third quarter, Iowa and MSU traded field goals before Marky Weisman punched it in to tie things up with less than a minute left; Iowa's first damn TD of the game.

Two forgettable overtimes later -- featuring zero touchdowns combined from either team -- Iowa won 19-16 in double OT.

There is nothing like winning a shitty weather game. As a fan, you technically did nothing, but it still feels unarguably earned:

lol Dantonio

You shiver less, cheer more, and suddenly, your soggy feet become slightly less noticeable. Also: time to talk shit to your Sparty friends on social media.

Can you just please rank them?

Ugh, here's a half baked attempt.

  • Tier 1: Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin
  • Tier 2: Ohio State, Nebraska
  • Pretty nice: Minnesota, Michigan State
  • The Sleeper: Indiana
  • "She Doesn't Even Go Here": Maryland, Rutgers
  • Meh: Illinois
  • Mehhh: Purdue
  • The worst: Northwestern

Don't forget to add Lucas Oil to your list, too.

Writer-y feelings ending to feel good about yourself?

Ohhhh, you know me too well.

The beauty of Big Ten football is it can be anywhere. We don't need stadiums -- we need parking lots. We need corner bars. We need screens.

But stadiums are still the pinnacle, where we congregate. Similar to churches, right? But, as I think they say: you can pray anywhere. Or, in my case, weep.

MSU Crying

This was taken a few blocks away from The Metro in Chicago. We don't need tickets to be miserable; misery is always free of charge.

But still.

Once time, my mom was hosting some coworkers from Greece, and, though they were sports fans, they were virgins to Midwestern college football culture. Still remember telling them we were going to watch some game at a townie bar near our local DMV; 11 a.m. kickoff/there will be drinking.

They were confused. Why start boozing that early in the morning? For amateur athletics? Explaining the concept of tailgating blew their minds even further ("Yeah, you kinda bring a bunch of cars into a parking lot and stand around and drink. That starts even earlier than 11 a.m.").

But is that not us? Throwing the football around, blasting rap/pop/country/classic rock (pick your poison), drinking before the sun even comes up. Yes, it has its flaws -- alcoholism indoctrination, anyone? -- but the best days are un-toppable and unique. It's why we can talk about these games like they're individual bottles of wine; win one, and it's forever; yours to store and cherish.

What's next?

I dunno, maybe Clemson.

The Hybrid

“Home feels different after you’ve shed blood to defend it.”

Wendesday

SMU at UCF:

&

Friday Night Lights

Nebraska at Rutgers: Damn -- Scott Frost, eh? Really not sure why I didn't dislike him as much as everyone else, but, I dunno, I didn't. Was definitely part of the "they had bad luck last year, should swing back in a big way this year" group. Boy, was that wrong.

Waubonsie Valley High School vs. Neuqua Valley High School: My alma mater Neuqua Valley (5-1, 3-0) plays our big rivalry game, dubbed the "War of 204" (schools are in District 204).

Our rival is a bit down this year -- like, winless down -- and a dub would make it five in a row against them, so there's definitely some missing juice compared past tilts.

Big picture, it's been an interesting season. We lost our senior QB1 (first three year starter in school history) in Week 2 of the season to a foot injury, but his junior backup is undefeated as a starter. QB1 was in a boot the last several weeks but regular shoes last week, so he could be close to a return. Our senior RB1 also got hurt, but his junior backup counterpart is really making an impact.

And since I probably haven't done enough to hook the Iowa part of your DNA: our defense is really leading the way. We've given up seven points or less in four of our six games (including a shutout).

Saturday

Michigan (4) at Indiana: Will refrain from gushing about JJ and instead give you this.

Tennessee (8) at LSU (25): Is this Tennessee thing real?

TCU (17) at Kansas (19): Jayhawks, baby! Been waiting a decade for this to happen again.

Purdue at Maryland: We all think Taulia Tagovailoa is legit now, right? Or is last year's five interception game vs. Iowa still too front of mind?

Auburn at Georgia (2): Why we gotta drop Georgia to No. 2? Just gonna make 'em mad.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma State (7): 

Utah (11) at UCLA (18): I need Chip Kelly to still have it.

Wisconsin at Northwestern: /me getting walked all over by high schoolers as a 24-year-old assistant regional manager at a CD store

Ohio State (3) at Michigan State: Really can't tell you how great this was in person.

Brutus didn't get got at my game, but a poor gal got taken out on a three hit combo fall (Slide 7 of this IG post).

Ole Miss (9) at Vanderbilt: Eh.

Clemson (5) at Boston College: I wanted DJ Uiagalelei to be great and Clemson to be bad, so maybe him being kind of just OK-and-good-sometimes-and-bad-sometimes is the compromise?

Washington State at USC (6): Reeeeeeally couldn't rec Wazzu's QB (Cam Ward) hard enough. He's an Incarnate Word transfer and has, generally, been a revelation (if not prone to back-breaking picks on occasion).

also hi wisconsin

lol first ever big ten win/such a sobering stat

BYU (16) at Notre Dame: Ah, shit -- are they gonna lose again?

/checks spread

Notre Dame by 3.5?! Well, then.

The Nation starting out 0-2 was great, but you know what's potentially greater? Four more ranked teams* and a probably annoying Navy game ahead.

(* - including No. 5 Clemson and No. 6 USC, yayyyy)

Iowa at Illinois: Michigan game recap.

Yes.

Me, I've abstained from Iowa football this year. The KF-BF-Petras combo broke me. I can't do all three. I said I'd come back if we lost one of the three, but now I'm wondering if we really need two of the dominoes to fall.

Nothing.

Ever.

Happens.

Caitlin Corner

Feel like Matt Leinart was just successful enough to be credible and just unsuccessful enough to be cool. It'll always come back to the ballroom dancing with this dude:

The perfect life.

No Context College Football
Wrapping It Up...

Thanks for having me on this one off. See y'all when the roundball hits the parquet.

Bobby Loesch is a weekly contributor to Go Iowa Awesome. Follow him on Twitter @bobbystompy or email to bobbyloesch [at] gmail.com.

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