The Biggest Home Field Advantage is Thursday Night

by cgb on Fri, Oct 19, 2007 at 9:30 am

After watching one hell of a football game between Rugers and USF I began thinking about how hard it is for road teams to win on Thursday night. I went back through 2002 (all the information available from espn.com) and have calculated some statistics. The road team has only won 17/59 (29%) of Thursday night games. Out of the 17 road wins only 4 have won a close game (<= 10 points): Auburn 24 @ USC 17, NCST 17 @ GT 14, FSU 17 @ NCST 10 and Southern Miss 17 @ UAB 12. There is one reason why the home team wins such a high percentage of games on Thursday night: atmosphere! The atmosphere created by drunk students is imposing and barbarous. The noise they generate results in false starts and difficulty in audibling. Below are the statistics I grabbed from ESPN.com.

2007

USF 27 Rutgers 30
FSU 21 WF 24
Kenutcky 23 USC 38
WVU 13 USF 21
TAMU 17 Miami 34
WVU 31 Maryland 14
MTSU 42 Louisville 58
LSU 45 Miss St 0

2006

BC 14 Miami 17
WVU 45 Pitt 27
Louisville 25 Rutgers 28
WVU 34 Louisville 44
Clemson 7 VT 24
UNC 0 UVA 23
VT 3 BC 22
FSU 20 NCST 24
Auburn 24 USC 17
UVA 7 GT 24
Maryland 24 WVU 45
Oregon St 14 BSU 42
USC 15 Miss St 0

2005

Pitt 13 WVU 45
BSU 7 Fresno St 27
Pitt 20 Louisville 42
BC 10 VT 30
VT 28 Maryland 9
Clemson 31 NCST 10
NCST 17 GT 14
Air Force 23 CSU 41
Utah 20 TCU 23
Oklahoma St 23 FA 3
UCF 15 USC 24

2004

WVU 13 Pitt 16
Maryland 6 VT 55
FSU 17 NCST 10
Louisville 56 Memphis 49
VT 34 GT 20
Syracuse 6 WVU 27
Louisville 38 Miami 41
Clemson 10 UVA 30
Pitt 17 Uconn 29
Miami 38 Houston 13
Uconn 7 BC 27
Missouri 14 Troy 24
TAMU 21 Utah 41

2003

Ole Miss 31 Miss St 0
TCU 28 Southern Miss 40
Virginia 17 Maryland 27
USC 6 Arkansas 28
BSU 50 Bringham Young 12
Maryland 3 GT 7
Clemson 15 NCST 17
Kentucky 21 USC 27
WVU 20 Miami 22
Nebraska 38 Southern Miss 14
TAMU 19 VT 35
California 24 Utah 31
Southern Miss 17 UAB 12
Maryland 13 NIU 20

Only regular season ESPN national broadcast games were taken into consideration

12 Responses to “The Biggest Home Field Advantage is Thursday Night”

Track Responses to This Entry With the RSS Feed Send a Trackback Write a Response

1Shaun on Oct 19, 2007 at 2:05 pm:

That was some really good research. After next Thursday night, it’s gonna be 17/60 because BC has no chance of going into Blacksburg and coming out victorious. None whatsoever. I don’t care who their QB is… unless they somehow get Tom Brady… but other than that, VT 30 BC-13.
2Mikey H on Oct 19, 2007 at 7:53 pm:

Shaun, I agree. Va Tech still needs to find its identity on offense, but Beamer Ball will be a huge advantage. BC as I stated earlier today, hasnt beaten anyone. They did beat a ranked Ga Tech, but Ga Tech is no longer in the top 25. They also had a very mediocre win against the struggling Irish, a team they should have blown out just like everyone else has this season. Matt Ryan is apparently at the top of some peoples lists for the Heisman for some reason. To me he is just another QB, not much of a standout. Their offensive production has been questionable at times, 24 points vs 1 AA UMASS, 24 points vs Ga Tech, and 27 points vs Notre Dame. Sure they can beat up on shittier teams like Army, NC State, and Bowling Green, but what happens when they play someone who actually has talent? I really can’t blame BC for its ranking, its not their fault they havent lost, while all the teams in front of them did. I really think it will all even out this thursday. Either BC will win an near impossible road game in Blacksburg, or they wont. Pretty cut and dry. If they do, it makes a strong case for number one. I personally dont believe they will, and a solid win for Va Tech vs a top 5 will help to vault them back into the top 10 after they fell out following a loss to a very physical LSU on the road. Va Tech by the way is almost unbeatable on Thursday nights whether they are home or away. They are something unreal like 23-4 on Thursdays.
My Prediction will be: Va Tech 33 – BC 17.
3Mikey H on Oct 20, 2007 at 10:52 am:

I finally tracked down some Hokie stats – I was close with the Thursday night but not exact.
Va Tech all time Records

Thursday Night Games – 14-3 (.824)
Home Games – 67-19 (.779)
Thursday Night Home Games – 8-1 (.888)
VS. Boston College – 9-4 (.692)
ESPN Televised Records – 36-15 (.706)
and Finally Record in October – 37-13 (.740)

Thats a whole lot of Wins in the Hokies side of the column. After Thurday Id put one more win in all those columns.
4jds on Oct 20, 2007 at 9:07 pm:

WVU 13 USF 21

was a Friday game. Just sayin.
5BCMike on Oct 22, 2007 at 7:28 am:

LOL…to Hokies fans that think they’re going to put up 30 points, how about coming back to reality where the rest of us live?

#1 rush D in the nation. 30+ points on BC means you believe Tyrod Taylor is going to sling the ball all over the field on BC (who leads the nation in INT’s, btw).

I think it will be a close game and admit that either team could win–although I certainly do favor my Eagles.

Final Score: BC 23, VaTech 16
6Joe Jones on Oct 22, 2007 at 8:54 am:

This is a very different Boston College team under Jeff Jagodzinski. They are far better conditioned, they have better strategy, better tactics during the game, and a coach who believes in them. I guarantee you this week Tom O’Brien would be talking about the weather, the humidity, scheming for the Eagles’ professed lack of speed, the academic restrictions, B.J. Raji’s absence, and the critical need to avoid injuries and putting backups on the field. Jagodzinski does none of these things. He embraces the unique advantages at BC, and simply states the backup just plugs in when the starter goes down. The players respond to this confidence in them, and so they play much harder for a staff who coaches them better.

I respect Beamer and Virginia Tech very much, but if they do beat BC Thursday night, they will have truly earned it.
7vtbaz on Oct 22, 2007 at 11:43 am:

Please, sleep on Blacksburg and bring that weak stuff into Lane. Just do it. I don’t see BC escaping with this one. I think it will be a 20-10 Hokies win. I’ve said it all year, this year’s BC squad reminds me of VT in 2001… lots of wins but nothing impressive and no quality opponents. This game might just expose some of those statistics as fraudulent and could start a snowball effect. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin, I’ve seen this before…

CGB: I’m trying to find a common theme in the bolded scores but I can’t… what gives with that?
8Mikey H on Oct 22, 2007 at 6:50 pm:

Hey Baz, I think it was when the away team won. Not 100% sure tho.
9cgb on Oct 22, 2007 at 8:30 pm:

Yeah unless I got one wrong it is away victories. In the case I did get one wrong, blow me.
10Dan J on Oct 23, 2007 at 3:16 pm:

I don’t know how the VTech guys get away with bashing BC’s schedule. The Hokies have played just as lame a schedule as the Eagles (except of course for the loss to LSU) and are sitting pretty at number 8. Also of note: VTech does only have 4 losses on Thursdays but 2 came from Boston College, one at home and one away. It will be a very interesting game.
11Mikey H on Oct 23, 2007 at 7:08 pm:

Dan J, you do make a valid point. I researched BC’s opponents win loss record awhile ago and it was (.410), that sounds pretty shitty. I just did the same thing for VT and it turned out to be (.488). Both teams have played a 1-AA team, and both have beaten a ranked opponent who is no longer in the top 25. So both schedules are equally lame as you suggested. Also the VT guys can get away with bashing on BC because this blog was started by a VT alum.