Josh Pate isn’t budging on Neyland Stadium.
The college football analyst has made Tennessee’s home field his clear No. 1, calling it the toughest place to play in the sport and doubling down even after EA Sports slotted it outside the top 10. Pate said it again Wednesday evening, and he’s been consistent since first making the case on his “College Football Show” podcast.
“Not only is Tennessee top 10, Neyland Stadium's the toughest place to play in college football,” Pate said.
His argument started with a shot at the video game ranking. “I've got all the respect in the world for the folks at EA,” Pate said. “To have Tennessee outside the top 10 of toughest places to play in college football is evidence of drug use.”
Pate, a Columbus, Georgia, native, said he has seen the place at full volume himself. “I've been there for the best of it,” Pate said.
“I shot this myself. I've been a part of it.
Deafening.”
For him, the sound inside Neyland is only part of the problem for visiting teams. He also singled out the song Tennessee fans lean on all game long. “There's also the psychological factor, because 'Rocky Top' is the most annoying sound in the world to anyone who's not a Tennessee fan,” Pate said.
He added that opponents hear it throughout the week on loudspeakers at practice, and said the effect gets even worse when Tennessee grabs a late lead. “I've never been in an avalanche before, but I imagine Tennessee taking the lead on you in the fourth quarter and 'Rocky Top' blaring during one of the nine-minute commercial breaks, that's what an avalanche of orange feels like,” Pate said.
Pate hasn’t softened that stance. When he ranked the toughest stadiums in college football again in March 2026, he still had Neyland at No. 1, even above LSU’s Tiger Stadium. “At its best, I have never seen anything like it,” Pate said.
EA Sports has inched closer to his view, at least on paper. College Football 27 puts Neyland at No. 8, a jump from No. 12 in College Football 26 and No. 13 in College Football 25. Tiger Stadium remains No. 1, followed by Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium, Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, Georgia’s Sanford Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The rankings may be climbing, but Tennessee’s home results took a hit in 2025. The Vols had gone 25-4 at Neyland in Josh Heupel’s first four seasons, then lost three home games last fall - to Georgia, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
Now the building Pate keeps calling the toughest in the country is about to get another spotlight. No.
1 Texas (3-0) visits No. 14 Tennessee (3-0) on Saturday at noon ET on ABC.
ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on campus, and it’s Tennessee’s annual Checker Neyland game.
The matchup brings a little extra history with it, too. Texas and Tennessee have never met in the regular season, and their three previous games all came in the Cotton Bowl, with the last one taking place in 1969.
Texas enters after edging Ohio State 24-23 earlier this month. Tennessee has been rolling offensively, scoring at least 42 points in all three of its games.
Saturday will also be a first for Arch Manning. The Longhorns quarterback, whose uncle Peyton Manning played at Tennessee, has never been to a Tennessee game, and this will be his first trip inside Neyland Stadium.
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