Unlike Invesco Field at Mile High, which CU and CSU treat like a political hot potato, the Cotton Bowl has signed Texas and Oklahoma to play through 2015. They’ve played there since 1930 and, as I do, appreciate the beauty and symmetry of a neutral site for a traditional rivalry. It’s kind of like the Hatfields and McCoys meeting every year at a certain patch of mountain clearing to take potshots at each other.
If you get a chance to attend a Red River Rivalry, go. Walk into the Cotton Bowl and it looks like two giant scoops of ice cream: crimson on one side, burnt orange on the other. The demilitarized zone is the 50-yard line, with 45,000 fans from both teams roaring on each side.
With the 103rd edition of the series Saturday, it’s time to share my favorite and worst places to watch a college game. With apologies to LSU fans for not being inside that jet engine they call Tiger Stadium, I have been to 49 sites, from Honolulu to Miami. I’ve seen them dot the “i” in Ohio Stadium and heard them boo Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. Here is one man’s view:
The top five
1. Rose Bowl, UCLA.
In no place in America can you sit in short sleeves in the first week of December and look out over the 86-year-old walls and still see the beautiful forest of trees. The Ohio State-Michigan game once came on TV before USC-UCLA. Going from the slate- gray surroundings of the Rust Belt to the bright colors of the Rose Bowl looked like you weren’t moving from one state to another but one planet to another.
2. Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabama.
Along with Roger Clemens walking off the mound at Yankee Stadium in the 1999 World Series and Germany opening the World Cup in its new Allianz Arena in Munich, Alabama had the loudest crowd I’ve ever heard in sports. They play Bear Bryant’s mumbled message in pregame and “Sweet Home Alabama.” Everyone is singing and screaming for blood. And Alabama wasn’t even very good then.
3. Cotton Bowl, Texas-Oklahoma.
Sure, the stadium is a dump. Empty, it looks like a giant ashtray. But it has been cleaned up and refurbished, and 16,200 more seats have been added to bring this year’s total to 92,200. And the party doesn’t just start at kickoff. Go early and roam the Texas State Fairgrounds. Read the T-shirts, then eat a fried Twinkie and try to make it to halftime. Go ahead. I dare you.
4. Ohio Stadium, Ohio State.
So what if it’s cold? You’re in football country. Ohio Stadium is built straight up and traps the noise, particularly in the closed end. Walk past the parties spilling out of fraternity row and into the rollicking time machine of a stadium built in 1922. And even if you hate marching bands — and I do — you’ll love it when they dot the “i.” It’s way cool.
5. Autzen Stadium, Oregon.
OK, I went there. Watch a game and tell me it’s not in your top five. Have breakfast on campus, then walk across the footbridge through all the fall colors to the loudest 54,000- seat stadium in the country.
The bottom five
1. The Metrodome, Minnesota.
I covered the Seattle Mariners in 1979 and 1980 when they played before about 15,000 in the mausoleum they called the Kingdome. The Metrodome is college football’s equivalent. It’s not worth a walk through the snow. Minnesota’s new TCF Bank Stadium cannot come soon enough next year.
2. Sam Boyd Stadium, UNLV.
If you think Las Vegas glitters, you’ll change your tune if you watch a game here. The stadium is eight miles from campus and 10 miles from the Strip. It’s in the desert. The stadium was renovated in 1999, but as you approach it you’ll think you’re going to a soccer stadium in Kuwait.
3. War Memorial Stadium, Wyoming.
Besides the fact that it constantly seems like a cold wind is coming in from the Arctic, there are few fans, even when the team is good. And, Cowboys fans, guess what? Tailgating is legal.
4. Hughes Stadium, Colorado State.
A school such as CSU should not have an off-campus stadium. It’s ugly, and when there’s a good crowd, the drive into the parking lot reminds students of the lines during registration.
5. Michigan Stadium, Michigan.
How does a stadium with 107,501 seats make the list? Easy. It sounds like 50,000. Wolverines fans yell as loud as Buckeyes fans, but the Big House’s fanned, bowl-like construction loses all the noise. The Big Joke makes the list just by being the most overrated.
Tulsa QB slingin’ as best in nation
If the Big 12’s Sam Bradford, Zac Robinson, Colt McCoy and Chase Daniel are Nos. 2 through 5 in the national pass-efficiency standards, who in the world is No. 1?
His name is David Johnson, a lightly recruited senior at Tulsa who has led the “third” Oklahoma school to a 5-0 record. Johnson has completed 100-of-143 passes (.699) for 1,682 yards, with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions, for a rating of 214.8 — 9.8 better than Bradford.
If Johnson’s name doesn’t ring a bell, it didn’t ring many with college programs when he was a high school senior at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore. Tulsa was his only Division I-A offer. After redshirting in 2004, he sat on the bench behind Paul Smith for three years.
Johnson got his break at the right time. Tulsa lost just two starters, including Smith, from an offense that led the nation last year (543.9 yards). This year, it’s No. 1 again (596.0) as well as tops in scoring (56.4).
Did Johnson ever think about leaving?
“I never did,” said Johnson, whose team plays at SMU on Saturday. “My parents actually encouraged me to stay. You just don’t know if you’ll get offered another opportunity.”
John Henderson, The Denver Post
Games of the week
No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Texas
If the Heisman Trophy comes out of the Big 12, it could come out of this 10 a.m. game with Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, right, facing the nation’s best pass defense. The national champion could come out of this game, too.
Big 12: No. 17 Oklahoma State (5-0, 1-0) at No. 3 Missouri (5-0, 1-0), 6 p.m. Fasten your seat belts. Missouri ranks second nationally in scoring offense with 53.4 points per game. OSU is third with 52.6. Mizzou’s defense has had its moments, while the Cowboys have not yet been tested.
Mountain West: New Mexico (3-3, 1-1) at No. 9 BYU (5-0, 1-0), 4 p.m. BYU dropped a notch in the AP poll for an uncharacteristically subpar effort against Utah State. New Mexico is likely to have the Cougars’ full attention with MWC rushing leader Rodney Ferguson. New Mexico typically plays BYU closer than do most MWC teams.
Colorado connections
Campbell a stalwart
Severin Campbell, Montana:
Moved forward in the Griz defense, Campbell seems to be fitting in at the end position. Switched from linebacker, the Golden High School grad has played every game this season and has 10 tackles for the Grizzlies. He is continuing the line of football-playing Campbells — his brother Ciarre is a senior backup cornerback at Montana, and his brother Calais was drafted by Arizona after a standout career at the University of Miami.
Kyle Mitchell, Baylor: The junior wide receiver from Montbello has rebounded from an injury midway through last season. He has started one game this season but has yet to catch a pass.
