Ducks Digest

Oregon Football's Autzen Stadium Ranked No. 11 in EA Sports College Football's "Toughest Places to Play"; Too Low?

Duck fans have turned Autzen Stadium into a nightmare for opposing teams, and the latest update from EA Sports College Football 25 has the home of Oregon Football ranked in their "Toughest Places to Play".

Kaleb Henry

Nov 24, 2023; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks fans cheer as the Ducks football team take the field before a game against the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium.
Nov 24, 2023; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks fans cheer as the Ducks football team take the field before a game against the Oregon State Beavers at Autzen Stadium. / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Oregon football plays in one of the toughest environments in the country.

According to the upcoming college football video game, Autzen Stadium comes in at No. 11 for the "Toughest Places to Play" in EA Sports College Football 25. But is that ranking too low?

The Ducks have lost at home just three times since the 2017 season: 33-10 to No. 11 Washington State in 2017, 38-31 (OT) to No. 7 Stanford in 2018, and 37-34 to No. 25 Washington in 2022. You have to go back to 2016 to have a season with more than a single loss at home for the Ducks.

Oregon fans welcome players to the field as the Oregon Ducks host Portland State in the Ducks season opener.
Oregon fans welcome players to the field as the Oregon Ducks host Portland State in the Ducks season opener Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Ranking higher than Autzen you have Texas A&M's Kyle Field at the top, even with their four home losses over the past two seasons. The Aggies are followed by Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium and LSU's Tiger Stadium. The rest of the top 10, in order, are Ohio Stadium (Ohio State), Sanford Stadium (Georgia), Beaver Stadium (Penn State), Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin), Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Oklahoma), Doak S. Campbell Stadium (Florida State), and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida).

Other Big Ten Conference teams in the Top 25 are Michigan Stadium (Michigan, 16), Kinnick Stadium (Iowa, 20), and Spartan Stadium (Michigan State, 22).

Even though Duck fans, deservedly, would believe Autzen should be in the top 10, if not among the best five, there is a reprieve to this spite: EA's own write up includes a disclaimer saying, "Rankings are subject to change in future updates."

Here's to the next update.

Stay up to date on all things Oregon Ducks by visiting Oregon Ducks on SI daily and following Oregon Ducks on SI on Facebook and X.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans.He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team.

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