Auburn coach Gus Malzahn: The Swamp was louder than Death Valley

Football

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Image Credit: GatorsFB / Twitter

Home-field advantage is a point of pride among college football fans, particularly in the Southeastern Conference. Every fan base wants to claim their home stadium is the loudest and toughest place to play. In the SEC. that debate is 10-fold. 

The No. 6 Florida Gators and No. 1 LSU Tigers both have a valid claim for loudest stadium in the South, if not the whole country. Each stadium has an iconic nickname, storied programs playing on the field, strong fan bases and been featured in major college football games this season. 

Well, we now have some very interesting feedback from a coach who has experienced both environments this season. No. 11 Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was asked following his teams 23-20 loss in Death Valley if the noise played a factor in the Tigers’ false start issues on Saturday night.

“No, it wasn’t anything as far as the noise,” Malzahn said. “It wasn’t quite as loud as it was at Florida. That’s something we haven’t had issues with in the past, but the two road games, it has been a big factor in the outcome of the game.”

Auburn has played four road games this season with three in extra-tough environments — at Texas A&M, Florida and LSU. It is worth pointing out that out of the three, only Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium seats fewer than 100,000 with just over 92,000 total seats. 

Malzahn’s statement doesn’t mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly goes a long way within fan bases in terms of bragging rights.