With the announcement of the Black Friday game between Michigan State and Penn State, many have been discussing the idea of college football neutral sites. College football has an atmosphere like no other. The home-field advantage in college sports is apparent, and neutral sites will take away a home game for teams. Many have gone on social media to voice their anger on the subject. Are college football neutral sites bad for the game?
2023 College Football Neutral Sites
Beaver Stadium – Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
The spark of this conversation truly began when the location of the Michigan State-Penn State game was announced. The game, which is the final regular season game as well, will be taking place at Ford Field in Michigan. While this does not hurt Penn State as the away team, Michigan State will be playing their final home game, not in their own stadium. It can be argued that because it is Thanksgiving weekend, many students are not on campus, but it still takes away from the Michigan State players.
As it is the final game of the season, this means the seniors will not have their last game at home in their own stadium. Every last home game is senior day. The team may have their senior day be the last actual home game, but this still can take away from their experience. The game will still take place in Michigan and give the Spartans’ fans a close game that they can travel to, but it will not be the same.
Other College Football Neutral Sites
There are other college football neutral sites this season aside from the Black Friday game. Some are normal, such as the Army-Navy game. This year that game will be held at Gillette Stadium, according to FBSchedules. The ones that are always neutral are not the issue; it is the ones that are usually played at the school’s stadiums.
TIAA Bank Field – Bob Self/Florida Times-Union
There are other games this season that do seem as though neutral sites can hurt the game. Pittsburgh and Syracuse will be facing off on November 11th at Yankees Stadium. This is a game that would normally want to take advantage of playing in their home stadium. Syracuse had a strong first half of the 2022 season. This could potentially mess it up for them in 2023.
Virginia and Tennessee will also be playing in a neutral site. That game will be played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. The two will play on September second. Instead of having a big home crowd to start the season strong, the teams will need to play at Nissan Stadium instead. There are other college football neutral sites this coming season that can be read here.
Neyland Stadiums – Randy Sartin/USA TODAY Sports
College Football Neutral Sites Take Away the Experience
There is something special about college football. No matter the size of the school, students, fans, and alumni all get there as early as they can and bring all their energy. Yes, most of the neutral sites are in the same state as the home team, but it is not the same. Many plans may need to change, and students and general fans may not be able to go.
Bowl games being college football neutral sites is perfectly okay. The goal for those is to have an even playing field. A big aspect that has fans excited about the college football playoff expansion is the chance to play home games. As for the regular season, neutral sites are taking away the fan experience.
There are many football fans who describe going to college games as something special. While theme nights in each school may add even more, even the regular games are a top experience for college football fans. There may be only a few games moving to neutral sites, but it has still sparked a large discussion. Will these college football neutral sites take away the experience that fans love?
