Goal: To thoroughly experience gameday at every FBS college football stadium. STADIUM COUNT: 108/134
The stifling heat and humidity followed us from Wisconsin as we arrived in Annapolis for Navy’s sold out home opener against Delaware. At quick glance, the uniforms would suggest that you were watching Michigan at Notre Dame. But, alas, it was the Midshipmen and the Blue Hens…perhaps not a marquis matchup, but certainly not short in action.
Compared to the surroundings of their hated rival, Houston, the campus of Rice is like a little slice of “Oz,” and Owl fans know it. It’s a twelve minute drive from UH to Rice and the scenery changes from boarded up houses to old southern style oak tree lined streets.
Rice is an outstanding academic institution that tends to seem out of focus when it comes to their football program. Despite some recent bowl success, the Owls appeared doomed to roost among the average in Conference USA. Further evidence of this came on this night when Baylor came to town. Of the mere 23,000 fans that showed up, around half displayed green and yellow in support of their Bears. Rice fans were not very vocal. However, their team did not provide them with much to exercise their vocal cords. In fact, the only thing that appeared to stop the Baylor offense was a lightning delay early in the second quarter.
Houston did have a problem. But, they fixed it. Not long ago, the Astrodome housed Cougar games. Moving college football games from campus and into downtown professional stadiums puts an antiseptic on the energy and culture that drives the spirit of the game. With some renovations and updates, the University of Houston resuscitated old Robertson Stadium and brought the Cougars and their fans back to campus. It seats around 35,000, which is considerably smaller than most FBS stadiums. But, that does not equate to lack of noise and excitement.
UPDATE: In 2014, Houston opened TDECU Stadium – CFT WILL RETURN!
The stands did not reflect the near sell-out crowd recorded in the box score after the Cougars’ victory over the Green Wave. Perhaps it was the lack of QB Case Keenum that kept fans away. Houston’s electrifying quarterback was set to break the all-time passing yard record this season when UCLA took out his ACL last week. The lower fan numbers could also be due to the loss of Houston’s backup QB due to a broken collarbone. Although both these factors can drain the energy out of a fan base, so can mid 90 degree temperatures and a sun that just could not find a cloud to hide behind. Usually, Cougar games take place at night, but this time, the television schedule would not allow for a sun strokeless event. Rather, Houston fans were forced to fry as they watched the third string quarterback, Terrance Broadway, take charge of the offense.
Temple is worse than a doormat. They are the dirt kicked off onto it. Need a confidence builder? Invite Temple to your stadium. Guaranteed to make your offense sharper and your defense tighter. Wisconsin’s offense already lathered up the week before with a shootout victory over Bowling Green. It wouldn’t be long before the 80,000 plus compacted into Camp Randall knew to relax and kick back. Quarterback John Stocco and tailback Brian Calhoun were relieved of their duties in the first half. Wisconsin hunted the Owls all afternoon and knocked out a 51-0 halftime lead causing everyone to wonder if this was Temple University or Temple High School.
Last year, the Bearcats pulled the rug out from underneath the Badgers leaving them dizzy and confused on the Cincinnati astroturf. Wisconsin fell victim to the largest upset of the year and even though they recovered to win their second consecutive Big Ten and Rose Bowl championship, the aftertaste of the defeat lingered.
Wisconsin had some deep wounds in their playing style. An inept offense was being covered by a band-aid of special teams, defense, and a heavy reliance on their Heisman trophy candidate, Ron Dayne. For Wisconsin’s last two opponents, the band-aid was strong enough to hold. However, the Cincinnati Bearcats not only located the protective covering, they clawed it off and dug deeper into the wound.
Two games into the season and the Badgers were in desperate need of a win. The punishing loss to Colorado to open the season was nothing short of a shock. Following that infamous evening was a trip to the Bay Area to play Stanford, which resulted in a 24-24 tie. So, Madison is the site for a game that the Badgers were expected to win. The Mustangs came in at 1-2.
Many factors contributed to the dreariness of this game. Being a mid-November game was the first contributor. The day was dark, cold, and almost eerie. It was the quietest group of 77,000 that I have ever heard. Cheering was at a minimum. The game started early to mid afternoon and finished in the darkness.
