Dennis Dodd ranks Rice-Eccles Stadium 25th

by JazzyUte on Mar 4, 2011 11:36 AM MST in Football

Utah football is finding a nice niche on the national scene these days and that should only continue with their move to the Pac-12 slated for this summer.

Dennis Dodd, who has been favorable to the Ute football team in the past, takes notice of the growing program and ranks Rice-Eccles Stadium 25th on his list of top 25 college football stadiums.

For a school that ten years ago struggled selling out its stadium, this ranking more than validates how far the program has grown over the years.

The fans even get a shout-out in the introductory paragraph:

All you can do is try. The following list is sure to please some, offend others. Like the NCAA selection committee, conference affiliation is not a factor. Like the selection committee, there are also biases. The difference being, I admit it. I love atmosphere whether it's Utah taunting BYU with "Where's Your God Now?" signs or the Fifth Quarter at Wisconsin.

Of the schools listed, only SC, Oregon and Washington are from the current Pac-10.

That would put Utah fourth with a lot of room to grow.

What will be interesting is the complete shift in atmosphere Utah football is about to see during its road games. It was rare the Utes ever played in front of a sold out crowd on the road unless it was against the BYU Cougars or Air Force Falcons. In fact, it wasn't unique to see less than 20,000 in the stands at places like San Diego St., UNLV, New Mexico and yes, up until recently, TCU.

That's all but changing this September. The average attendance for a Pac-10 game in 2009? 54,186 - or about 10,000 more than Rice-Eccles actually sits.

We might be small, but I think Utah fans, specifically the students, will quickly prove to be some of the best in the conference.

I mean, you can't really beat the Third Down Jump...

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If Rice-Eccles had some tradition like in the sec we would be in the top five.

You can’t beat the view of two mountain ranges plus we are an olympic stadium.

The University of Utah is off to the Pac-12 Conference and will be in the South Division. Hopefully we will get to the first ever Pac-12 Championship Game. Jon " Bones " Jones gets his chance for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when he faces off against Shogun Rua. Jon Jones will win.

by wolfmanshowlforever on Mar 4, 2011 11:46 AM MST reply actions

Now we just need to get the fans into the stadium BEFORE kickoff...

Like we did in the TCU game. The stadium was almost packed by the time the game started.

T’was a great sight. Too bad the game sucked.

by JazzyUte on Mar 4, 2011 12:09 PM MST up reply actions

The TCU game was electric

I had goose bumps at kickoff. The atmosphere was amazing. Too bad we lost like we did.

Smug self-righteous judgment of others does not make you classy. Going out of your way to call people classless does not make you even classier.

by daedalus17 on Mar 4, 2011 8:59 PM MST up reply actions

The volume...

on TCU’s first snap was deafening. Great to have butts in the seats for kickoff!

by bbmagic on Mar 5, 2011 12:25 PM MST up reply actions

Indeed, timeliness is a big difference

Even with TCU, Pitt and BYU, the line of students outside the stadium was huge at kickoff.

That was the biggest thing I noticed when I went to Michigan in 2008. We went in the stadium 90 minutes early and it was mostly full already. Not sure it will ever change cuz we Utahns are a tardy bunch by nature.

by Thlete on Mar 4, 2011 1:37 PM MST reply actions