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Originally Posted by Bearsnecessity  Is Neyland the loudest in the SEC? I know it's the largest.
It's interesting. The SEC games definitely feel a thousand times more dramatic than other, but the gameplay itself can get downright sloppy. I watched a few games on TV last year--blocked punts, sloppy fumbles, botched snaps. It was ridiculous. No wonder you guys look much crisper playing OOC. It's just not as high-stakes.
The crowd really does have that much of an effect on a road team's psyche doesn't it? Or is the pressure of winning an SEC game so much that the players get caught up in it and struggle to perform at their best?
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The loudest depends on what SEC fans you talk to. The Swamp and Death Valley are right up there if not past Neyland and from what I here Auburn gets really loud too.
If the team is used to playing in front of 75,000 to 100,000 fans then the crowd doesn't usually play a factor. But you've already admitted that no fans are more passionate about football than southern fans.
The SEC games you speak of is what happens when 2 evenly matched teams play. See the athletic difference when UT played Cal? That doesn't happen as much when 2 SEC teams come to play each other. It has nothing to do with pressure, it has to do with 22 of the best football players in the nation on the field at the same time.