Ohio State star safety lists Kyle Field as the toughest environment

Texas A&M’s Kyle Field is widely considered one of the toughest places to play on a national scale, and is currently the largest stadium in the SEC, sitting 102,733, making it the fourth largest stadium in the country, creating a stark advantage over the past two seasons under head coach Mike Elko’s teams.

This past season, over 108,000 fans made their way to Kyle Field against Auburn and Mississippi State, and for the epic 27-point comeback win over South Carolina, setting three of the ten attendance records, led by the 2014 loss to Ole Miss, which drew 110,633 Aggies.

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Overall, Texas A&M went undefeated in Kyle Field during the 2025 regular season before suffering its only home loss against the eventual national runner-up Miami in the College Football Playoff. Still, no matter the decade of the Aggie football, it’s never a surprise to see Kyle Field atop the lists of the toughest places to play for former star college football players, now including elite Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who played at Alabama during his 2023 freshman season.

Downs has been an absolute game-changer since his freshman season, and after declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft, before the Georgia native is likely selected in the early part of the first round, he first listed his Top 4 toughest stadiums to play in, listing Kyle Field at No. 1.

During his lone season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide defeated Texas A&M in Kyle Field 26-20 in one of the more frustrating losses during the final year with Jimbo Fisher as head coach, as the Aggies had plenty of chances to pull out the win, a change in the trajectory of their season.