With the college football season in full swing and conference play well underway, fans are being treated to some incredible atmospheres. While plenty of teams have their own traditions, like Iowa’s Wave and Wisconsin’s Jump Around, the traditions that stand out the most are team entrances that not only get the crowd amped but also get the players ready to run through a brick wall.
With so many great entrances in college football, we went ahead and ranked the 10 best.
Ranking the Best College Football Entrances
10) South Carolina “2001”
Like all the other entries on this list, South Carolina’s college football entrance is certainly one of a kind. Entering to the song “2001” is a nice futuristic touch that gets fans at Williams-Brice Stadium out of their seats. While their entrance may not inject fear into their opponents or a ton of juice into the players, it’s still a niche entrance that at least deserves a spot on this list.
9) Auburn “War Eagle”
Admittedly, there are more menacing mascots than an eagle, but it’s still pretty cool to see one fly around the stadium before landing at midfield. It may not get the fans as pumped and ready to go as some of the others on this list, but the flight is still more than deserving of a spot on this list.
8) Tennessee “Running Through the T”
Tennessee may not have an electric song or a live mascot, but it is still one of the best in the country. The band makes their way down the field in the formation of the Tennessee logo, assumes formation by the team entrance, and the Volunteers run through the band members right as they spread apart to form a “T.” It’s something that no other school has, but for some reason is still underrated.
7) Clemson “Howard’s Rock”
Clemson has one of the most unique entrances in all of college football. The team enters from outside of the stadium and runs down the hill, touching Howard’s Rock on the way down to the field. It’s truly one of a kind and something that no other program can even rival. The only downside to the entrance is that the actual action of each player touching the rock and making their way down to the field takes away from some of the build-up.
6) Texas Tech “Masked Rider”
While there are more teams than you think that use a horse for their entrance, few do it better than Texas Tech. While it certainly doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of opponents like live mascots that will be mentioned shortly might, there is something pretty cool about a team being led out of the smoke by a masked rider adorned in black on a galloping horse.
5) Colorado “Ralphie’s Run”
At number five on this list of best college football entrances comes Colorado in one of the craziest of them all. Colorado lets a live buffalo of over 1,000 pounds run onto the field. Yes, Colorado has almost two dozen people to make sure disaster doesn’t strike, but seeing a buffalo essentially run loose on a football field has to be one of the most terrifying things an opposing player could see.
4) Florida State “Chief Osceola”
The Seminoles may have a logo and chant that isn’t beloved by many, but Chief Osceola riding in on a horse and planting a flaming spear at midfield is pretty cool. While this is one of the most unique and badass traditions in college football, it is ranked somewhat lower on this list due to the fact that this takes place at the very tail end of the team’s entrance. Nevertheless, it’s still deserving of a place near the top of this list of best college football entrances.
3) Penn State “We Are Penn State”
As much as I personally hate Penn State, I can’t possibly put them any lower than third on this list. Their “We Are Penn State” chant while incredibly basic, is yelled loud, proud, and opposing teams better hope they aren’t playing in Beaver Stadium at night. When the stadium goes all in on their “white out,” there are not many places more terrifying to play at than Penn State and that starts all with how they run out onto the field.
2) Texas A&M “Power”
If there’s one thing Kanye West can do, it’s whip people into an absolute frenzy, only this time it’s with his music. The air raid sirens along with the fans chanting along to the beat are enough to send chills down anyone’s spine who’s even watching the Aggies run onto the field via video. Texas A&M has one of the two “elite” entrances in college football.
1) Virginia Tech “Enter Sandman”
Was there really any other entrance that would take the top spot? Enter Sandman was the greatest closer entrance of all time for Mariano Rivera and it is part of the best college football entrance right now as well. All the fans are into it, the fireworks are a great touch, and when the fans are all wearing white, it gets even better. It is going to take something really special if Virginia Tech is ever going to be topped for the best entrance in college football.
