Ohio Stadium or more affectionately referred to as ‘The Horseshoe’ for its distinctive horseshoe configuration, takes the top spot on our list. There is no tougher venue in the Big Ten conference than the Shoe. If you play the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe, all bets are on a loss. If the crowd noise doesn’t affect your team, then the competitive Buckeye squads will.

ATTENDANCE: 9

When you win 32 games out of the 35 played in the last 5 seasons, including 3 national title runs in the last 3 seasons, it is hard to find an empty seat in the house. That’s actually saying a lot considering the Shoe is the fourth largest collegiate stadium in the nation with an official capacity of 102,329 which has been shattered each of the past 5 seasons.

Ohio Stadium saw its largest crowd on November 18, 2006, with 105,708 fans in attendance for the Buckeyes\' matchup against their arch rival, the Michigan Wolverines.

Now imagine this colossal monument to college football filled to the brim with scarlet clad Buckeye fans. The mere idea can send shivers down your back if you’re the visiting team.

TRADITION/HISTORY: 9

Before we start screaming about how Ohio State has far more tradition/history than Penn State and Michigan, which were both awarded higher marks than the Shoe, let us remember that ranking these three programs in this category was almost like pulling teeth. We are talking about a combined 20 national titles, 11 Heisman winners, and a 64-52 post season record.

Do we rank it based on the number of championship trophies? Michigan dominates in this category with 11, but, even Yale claims as many as 24 national titles, its last one coming in 1924, and they certainly do not compare tradition or history wise to any of the 3 programs.

Do we base it off of Heisman winners? Ohio State with 7 (2 by Archie Griffin) would win this. Even Army claims 3 Heisman titles, equivalent to the tradition rich program of Michigan and 2 more winners than Penn State, but are they richer in tradition or history? We don’t believe so.

Or do we consider post-season play the deciding variable, when these teams are matched up against teams from other conferences that have proven their competitiveness throughout the regular season. Penn State blows everyone away in this category being the only program out of the three with a winning record in the post-season. Winning 71% of its post-season games.

So its not exactly a clear-cut, ‘Ohio State has more national titles, they should therefore be the winners in this category’ situation. We took all 3 into consideration, but the deciding variable was the program’s influence on the landscape of college football.

Michigan is so steeped in tradition and history, there was no doubt they stood atop this category. The all time winningest program in college football, the highest winning percentage in college football, the winged helmets, the Go Blue banner, the Victors fight song, the list is just endless.

Then it was a two horse race between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. On one hand you have the Buckeyes, the much more accomplished program on the field, but eventually the Nittany Lions have had a much greater impact on the sport of college football than any which edged the Buckeyes into third place.

Let us explain. The 1987 Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Miami was much greater than a single post-season bowl game. The game was so successful and so influential, it served as the catalyst for the thinking heads of college football to want to create a system to pair the top two teams at the end of the regular season no matter what conference they were from. Prior to that game, the top teams from each conference were locked into their respective Rose, Cotton, Orange and Sugar Bowls no matter their rank at the end of the season. If there was the rare #1 v #2 matchup during this time, it was by pure coincidence and never deliberate. The Fiesta Bowl showed it could actually be done, and that the top two teams, no matter which conferences they were from, should be paired together in a post season bowl. And thus the Bowl Alliance was born.

Then came Penn State’s momentous decision to shed their independent status and join the Big Ten. Not only did this shock the collegiate football world when the long time independent power from the Northeast joined one of the oldest and most tradition rich conferences in the country, but it sparked a realignment movement that transcended over 4 major conferences eventually resulting in the teams and conferences we see today.

So it was a tough decision, but a justified one in awarding Penn State the second spot in this category. Their mark on college football is as undeniable as Notre Dame’s decision to pair with NBC for its own television contract. So with that explained, we bring you the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The historic rotunda at the Horseshoe.

You cannot walk into Ohio Stadium and ignore the tradition. The ‘Best Damn Band in the Land’, the dotting of the i, and Script Ohio all happens before the the ball is even touched. Then theres the Buckeye stickers, the Block O and the chilling ‘O-H, I-O’ chant. Ohio State can easily top this category, but as we explained earlier, by default of Michigan and Penn State, Ohio State gets a 9 in this category.

FANS: 9

How can you not take advantage of the rabid student base at Ohio State? Granted the rest of the Shoe is filled with equally rabid alumni fans, but Ohio State continues to disperse its students around the stadium rather than embracing the ‘student section’ that many stadiums have come to appreciate as an asset to creating a home field environment.

Well known for their card stunts, the Block O is the largest student organization at Ohio State.

Sure theres the ‘Block O’ section which is just as loud if not more organized than any student section you can find in the country. But with only 1,200 tickets available for the Block O, it pales in comparison to the sight of 20,000 plus students standing together at Beaver or Michigan Stadium. The students at Ohio State know this all too well, with numerous calls for a student section. Unfortunately they have mostly fallen on deaf ears with the administration which cites the loss of revenue generated by the current tickets for higher paying alumni if those seats were to be given away to students to form a student section.

Maybe it is for the best. Even without a one true student section, Buckeye students aren’t known for their welcoming behavior. Their tendencies of berating and harassing their opponents is both notorious and well documented. Unfortunately, it is also a tendency many student sections around the Big Ten have begun to imitate.

VENUE: 11

One of the most recognizable venues, not only in collegiate football, but in all sports, the horseshoe shaped Ohio Stadium is an icon in the sporting world.

By dispersing the students into the rest of the stadium, the source of noise in the venue is not isolated to a specific student section like in most places, but the entire venue is deafening when the crowd gets into it after a big play. Add to the fact that the horseshoe has been enclosed, noise has no where else to go but on the field.

The only drawback to the historic Horseshoe is the lack of permanent field lights. Like Michigan, Ohio Stadium does not feel it is necessary to add lights as a permanent fixture. When night events do occur like Texas in 2005, and Michigan in 2006, temporary lights are installed to fulfill the need.

WIN/LOSS RECORD: 11

This category ultimately put Ohio Stadium over the top. It might not share the same fan experience as Wisconsin’s Camp Randall, or as intimidating or deafening as Beaver Stadium, but no one, absolutely no one, wants to play the Buckeyes at the Shoe.

Reason? 3 losses in the last 5 years. Thats 3 losses in the last 35 games played at the Horseshoe. A stunning 91% winning percentage at home. And the last 3 teams to win at the Shoe were #16 Wisconsin, #2 Texas and Illinois. The 2004 Wisconsin team eventually went undefeated in their first 9 games, losing only their last 2 away games, that 2005 Texas team eventually went on to beat the USC Trojans that year for the national title, and that 2007 Illinois team ended up earning a BCS Rose Bowl invitation. A stunning resume for Ohio Stadium in the last half-decade.

In the last 5 years, 11 ranked teams have reluctantly scheduled themselves into Ohio Stadium, and 9 of them have returned home losers to the Buckeyes. 7 different teams of those 9 fell victim to the Shoe, Michigan lost twice and so did Iowa.

If the crowd wasn’t a factor in itself, the Buckeyes continue to field highly successful and competitive squads. When they lose star players to the pros, the Buckeyes simply reload for another run at the title. Rebuild is simply not in their repertoire. Proof lies in the 3 back to back national championship appearances in the last 3 years.

Unfortunately the cutoff point was in 2003, but as recently as 2002, the Buckeyes made yet another national title appearance in which they won an epic overtime battle against Miami for a national championship. That would have made it 4 title appearances in 6 seasons. Teams would die for just 1 regular BCS bowl invite in that amount of time.

So not only are you playing in the toughest home field environment in the Big Ten, but you are faced with a home squad that are annual title contenders. It is no wonder wins at the Shoe just don’t happen. Come to think of it, they should be awarding trophies to teams that win their individual away games at Ohio Stadium.

TOTAL: 49 OUT OF POSSIBLE 55

Have you attended a game at Ohio Stadium? Let us know how your experience went. Your memories of the venue might differ greatly from our perspective and we would like to know.

Releated Posts:

1. Great Moments in the Penn State/Ohio State Rivalry, Part 2
2. Starting Ohio State Week Off Right
3. Penn State takes a lickin’ but stops tickin’ against Ohio State
4. Let’s Get it Started – Ohio State
5. Behind Enemy Lines: The Ohio State Buckeyes

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