Ahead of the pending release of EA College Football 25, EA Sports has ranked the Florida Gators and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the No. 10 home venue in its Toughest Places to Play rankings.
Several different factors went into these rankings for the toughest places to play in the new game. That includes things like historical stats, including home winning percentage, attendance, home winning streaks, and team prestige among other things to come up with this ranking.
Known by many Florida fans as “The Swamp,” Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has developed a reputation over the years for both how hot it can be and how difficult the Gators fans make it on their opponents.
One of the team’s great head coaches, Steve Spurrier, gave one of the great quotes about Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, saying “The ‘Swamp’ is a place where only Gators get out alive.” With a capacity of 88,548 people, it’s no surprise why the home team has such an advantage.
On the Florida athletics website, the school itself breaks down its thoughts on Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, or ‘The Swamp,’ is widely recognized as one of, if not the toughest, environments for a visiting team in all of college football,” the website reads. “Several facelifts after the stadium’s original construction in 1930 have made Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the state-of-the-art facility you see at today’s game. Without a bad seat in the house, ‘The Swamp’ ranks as the largest stadium in the state of Florida.”
The Swamp opened in 1930 and has listed its record attendance at 90,916 people. That came back in 2015 in a game against rival Florida State.
The Florida Gators football program is one that is rich in tradition and plenty of those are centered around the fan experience at The Swamp. That includes more recent traditions, like singing “I Won’t Back Down” by Gainesville native Tom Petty. At other points in the game, fans enjoy traditions like Mr. Two Bits, which goes all the way back to 1949.
One of the most interesting things about these Toughest Places to Play rankings from EA Sports is that they’re not just random rankings. Recently, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that how tough a home-field advantage is deemed will impact the game itself.
“Home-field advantage is also back,” Nakos wrote. “Players can test their squad’s road game composure and confidence levels with distractions like screen shaking, missing pre-play icons and moving play art.”
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is ranked so highly by EA Sports. Now, it only remains to be seen how the game itself is able to depict the stadium.
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