To almost everyone living in the south, fall means one thing: Football. Whether you're in it for the tailgating and the food, or you simply love the sport itself, there is nothing better than a southern Saturday in the fall.
Home games are sacred. You claim your stadium, you know the words to every chant and every song the band plays. You wear your school's colors with pride, and you rightfully claim the stadium as your second home. Or if you're crazy enough about your team, it might be your favorite place in the whole world (guilty).
Although home games will always hold a special place in our hearts, you simply cannot go through college, or life for that matter, without experiencing the thrill of going to away games. It's truly exciting going into uncharted territory with people who are just as crazy about their team as you are. Getting to see other campuses and stadiums is an eye-opening and fun experience that you should take full advantage of.
With that said, here are 4 games coming up in 2015, that you do not want to pass up traveling to.
1) Tennessee at Florida
- Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, better known as The Swamp, is the largest stadium in the state of Florida with numbers that typically exceed 90,000, at a home game. The Swamp has a good reputation for being one of the most difficult venues for visiting teams to play in, likely because of the “sinkhole" build of the stadium, that tends to enhance all noise that's produced within it. If there is one thing that is long overdue, it is a Volunteer win against the Florida Gators. The Gators have won the last 10 match-ups between the two teams. With a devastating loss in 2012 when College Game Day came to Knoxville, and a painful one point loss in 2014 with the post-game conference comment from Will Muschamp, “I love seeing all these people disappointed". If there is one thing Vol fans are dying to see, it is a W in the column against Florida. Both Tennessee and Florida are up-in-the-air as far as the SEC east goes, and I promise you that this is one match-up you do not want to miss. Go ahead and mark your calendar to be in Gainesville on September 26th.
2) Alabama at Georgia
- Athens is easily one of the best college football towns in the country. On any given Friday night before a game, the entire town is flooded with Georgia students and fans preparing for the following day. Sanford Stadium, which in recent years has been expanded to hold 92,746 people, is the fifth largest on-campus stadium in the U.S. For each team every season there is typically one unique game that doesn't tend to fall on the schedule: This year we get Alabama and Georgia. The last time the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs met in the regular season was in 2008, and a SEC match-up following in 2012, with Alabama winning both games. Being two of the strongest teams from the east and west, the game falls on the last of Georgia's 3-straight home games, and Alabama's first true road game. This has the potential to be an exciting game. Join the locals for a night on the town on October 2nd but be sure to make it to Sanford by kick-off on October 3rd.
- The Bulldogs' own Davis Wade Stadium is the fifth oldest stadium in all of college football. Although it only holds 61,337 people it does not shy from being a great venue. In 2011, Bleacher Report called it “one of college football's top 50 stadiums to see before you die". One of the most well known traditions is the ringing of Cowbells inside of the stadium. During big games, there have been an estimated 40,000 cowbells (that's a lot of cowbell). With both teams starting the 2014 season 7-0, it seemed as though the state of Mississippi was unstoppable. This rivalry game, known as the Egg Bowl, is always one deserving of national attention. With both teams having such a successful previous season, this game is likely to be more intense than ever. Be sure to head on over to Starkville on November 28th if you're looking to find a great rivalry game. You might want to bring a cowbell.
4. Oklahoma at Tennessee
- Holding 102,455 people, Neyland Stadium is the eighth largest stadium in the world, the sixth largest in the United States, and the second largest in the Southeastern conference. Former NFL QB and ESPN analyst Brock Huard praised the stadium saying, “Don't know if it's the stadium on the water, a bright orange I can even see, or 100k+ die-hard fans, but Tenn is 1 of my Top 5 spots in CFB". In 2014, it became evident pretty quickly that a young Volunteer team (who played more than 20 freshman over the season), was not prepared to face the Sooners. With those young players returning for Tennessee along with another strong recruiting class, it seems as though this team is headed up. Oklahoma is possibly taking the flipside and going down after many experienced players failed to meet expectations in 2014. Not to mention getting blown out by Clemson in their bowl game. With the Vols looking for revenge against the Sooners, and the opportunity to tailgate on the water, why wouldn't you be in Knoxville on September 12th?
