Clemson Football ranked among best college tailgates

Clemson Football has been ranked as one of the best tailgates in college football.

Death Valley’s tailgating experience was ranked 5th among all college programs.

The list was compiled by WSN, who studied both professional teams and college programs to determine who had the ultimate tailgate.

WSN looked at several factors which included:

• Tripadvisor tailgating score
• Tripadvisor stadium score
• 4-star and 5-star food reviews
• Average home attendance
• Stadium capacity
• Average ticket cost
• Average rainfall

WSN concluded the best tailgate in college football was the Kansas State Wildcats, followed by the Utah Utes, Michigan Wolverines, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

The second five teams are Tennessee, TCU, Alabama, Georgia, and USC.

The best professional tailgate was the Kansas City Chiefs, followed by the Arizona Cardinals and the Buffalo Bills.

Tiger fans know tailgating at Death Valley on Saturdays during football season is among the best experiences in the nation, so Clemson’s inclusion on the list isn’t a surprise. FanSided has a Top 10 ranking that was created a few years ago, and 247Sports created a Top 25 in 2021 and a Top 10 in 2022. Clemson appears in each of those lists, as well as many others that have been produced over the years. Even USA Today acknowledged the Tigers’ tailgate scene in 2017.

There are a few surprises on WSN’s Top 10, most notably the top two: Kansas State and Utah. These are two programs you don’t see on many other lists.

Kansas State and Utah appear nowhere on those lists. Other staple tailgate locations, like Ole Miss and LSU, are not included on WSN’s list.

Clemson Football is often ranked on top tailgate lists, but WSN ranks some unusual schools at the top of their data-driven list

The one thing that can be said for WSN’s list is that it does state some criteria. The FanSided and 247Sports lists appear to simply be someone’s opinion. We have no idea if they have attended these tailgates they are rating or not.

Does WSN’s criteria make complete sense? Not really. It is debatable what stadium size, attendance, or stadium rating has to do with a tailgate, which is held outside the stadium. I do like that WSN tried to use data to create a ranking instead of anecdotal evidence, which is how I think most people create top tailgating lists.

Since I think a lot of those top tailgating lists defer to larger programs that are typically better known and more in the public eye, I think they could be on to something with Kansas State. A good tailgate doesn’t need to be big. Kansas City is known for barbeque, and I don’t doubt that Manhattan, KS could have some good food.