College Football: The great neutral site vs. home-and-home debate

Neutral site pros

There are plenty of reasons to play at a neutral site. For one, it prepares the team to travel and play in new cities and stadiums.

For example, Alabama will play in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta this season. If they end up winning their division, that team will return to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship. Being familiar with everything off the field makes Atlanta almost like a second home for the Tide. The same can be said with National Championship locations. It just gets players comfortable with new environments.

It also lets teams play each other in a more pure form of the game. When you only play one time in a neutral site, things like crowd noise and an imbalance in travel don’t matter as much. You can play the game and win it on the field. For teams like Alabama, this is a great advantage. This also makes up for having a weak non-conference schedule.

From a business side, it’s good for the sport. Neutral sites are almost like a ceremony to start the season. Some people wouldn’t watch Duke travel to Tuscaloosa to play a game, but they’ll tune in Week 1 for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. It also encourages teams to play good teams early in the season without the risk of losing to them in two straight years.

All in all, it has helped carry the sport into non-conference games against top opponents, and you never have to do it in a true road game.