Editor’s note: This article is part of our College Football Stadium Rankings series, highlighting the most interesting venues across the country.

What makes a college football stadium great?

It can be the architecture, sure, and some beautiful scenery doesn’t hurt. But in building a list of the top 25 FBS stadiums by surveying college football writers and editors at The Athletic, it’s clear that what makes venues most memorable are the atmospheres and vibes they facilitate, whether 100,000-plus people are in attendance in Death Valley, at the Big House or in a White Out or less than half as many are in the stands amid leafy settings in West Point, N.Y., and Boone, N.C.

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Still, criteria vary from person to person, including whether the iconic setting of the Rose Bowl qualifies as one of the best stadiums in the country for UCLA home games, too.

The 28 staffers we surveyed have attended football games at 123 of 136 FBS stadiums — and at least laid eyes upon all but two (sorry, Delaware and New Mexico State, we'll get there soon!). We asked them to rank their 10 favorite home college football stadiums, plus name an additional five honorable mentions. Points were awarded, and a final top 25 by The Athletic was created.

Here's our list. (Let us know your favorites in our reader survey too.)

(Derick E. Hingle / Getty Images)

1. Tiger Stadium, LSU Capacity: 102,321 Opened: 1924

"Saturday night in Death Valley" is not just a phrase. At LSU, it's an experience.

It's the smell of gumbo wafting through a tailgating scene guaranteed to pack a few extra pounds on you before kickoff. It's 100,000-plus fans packing into the concrete and steel cathedral, screaming loudly enough to crush an opposing team's soul. It's the full-throated crowd singing "Callin' Baton Rouge" in unison as the fourth quarter begins. It's the place where, as Les Miles once said, "Opponents' dreams come to die."

Although LSU has had to tighten security due to incidents outside the stadium this fall, there's still nothing in college football quite like Tiger Stadium, which was the overwhelming choice, garnering half of the first-place votes. The home-field advantage is substantial: LSU has won 87.7 percent of its home games since 2000. Only 16 teams out of 131 have gone into Baton Rouge and emerged with a victory over LSU in the past 25 years.

The noise, the intensity, the passion? Unparalleled, especially at night. — Sam Khan Jr.

(Brett Carlsen/ Getty Images)

2. Beaver Stadium, Penn State Capacity: 106,304 Opened: 1960

My first trip to Happy Valley was for a night game between No. 2 Miami and unranked Penn State at the newly expanded Beaver Stadium in 2001. I was blown away by the atmosphere, mostly by the tailgating scene of over 100,000 Nittany Lions faithful. The Canes ended up destroying Penn State that night, but I remember more about the vibe around Happy Valley that day than I do anything that actually happened in the game.

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My most recent trip was to see Penn State host Ohio State in 2024 in the l