OT: best away game locations 2023
With the crappy home schedule this year, I'm thinking of going to an away game. Interested in your thoughts of which would be the most fun place to visit on the schedule this year. Caveats: 1) done MSU before, and not going back, and 2) PSU is obvious choice but I can't go that weekend. So how would you rate Nebraska, Minny, and Maryland? I am thinking probably Nebraska would be best.
Nebraska, yes, Maryland may feel like a home game. Minny, meh.
I would like to go to a game in Licoln but their stadium is always a sell out and tickets are expennsive on the secondary markets. It would only be 3 hour drive for me but I like driving an extra couple of hours to Kinick stadium.
OhNo, I think you got it exactly right.
Out of curiosity, I looked in to Nebraska a while back, since the stadium experience seems very cool.
Then I looked in to how few flights go near Lincoln/Omaha (it's honestly easier to fly to Kansas City and drive the 3 hours), and how few things there are to do, and i came to the determination that it's not worth it for me.
Maybe it will be for others, but if I'm going to go to all the trouble of flights, hotels, and car rentals, I want to be able to enjoy it for more than just the one game day.
But you never went, so do you really have a clue?
Nebraska fans took over Berkeley when they played here. They were in all the bars and restaurants in their red outfits. Super nice and fun people.
Everyone on here who has been says it is a great experience. Everyone on the web agrees.
You can also say yes to the telephone museum and skeet shooting when you visit Lincoln
But you haven't been to Lincoln either, so you're speculating just as much as they are.
Omaha is just shy of 500K and Lincoln is just shy of 300K. It seems inconceivable to me that you couldn't fill a weekend in that area with fun and interesting activities outside of football. (By "football" I'm also referring to the stuff within walking distance of the stadium.) If nothing else, there should be some excellent food somewhere.
Locals? Seasoned Michigan fans? Am I mistaken?
I'm not saying one can't have fun in Lincoln, and yes, you can have some good meals anywhere, but it's simply a value prop decision.
If I'm going to take days off work, be required to take multiple flights, and spend potentially $1000+ in a weekend, I'm going to go somewhere that has more than just a football games worth of entertainment.
By the way, the #3 most popular attraction in Omaha is a foot bridge. So, yeah, I might hold out for games in Los Angeles.
Lived in Omaha for almost 4 years. I concur, not much to do there. NE fans may be nice, but they sure are annoying. Ha ha.
Disagree. While Nebraska sucks on the whole for activities, Omaha is a fun town! Ask any LSU baseball fan. They flock to Omaha every year, even if LSU doesn't make it to the world series. Lived there for eight years.
Omaha is an extremely fun town during those 2 weeks. The rest of the year? Meh. We had a blast during the CWS.
I can’t speak for nightlife or bars / restaurants, but if you’re driving to the game from Michigan / the east, and if you like zoos, the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is consistently rated as one of the best zoos in America.
Minnesota may be a boring game, but the town is amazing. The campus is right in the heart of it and there are a ton of things to do within walking distance.
Without knowing where OP is traveling from, I'd agree with you. Minneapolis is a cool city and a nice campus, and it has a big airport which makes flights plausible from anywhere (unlike Nebraska). Of the 3 choices I'd take Minnesota.
Even Denard’s nerve didn’t ruin my Lincoln Nebraska experience. I’m going to Minnesota this season. Penn State was meh, Iowa awesome.
state college is meh too. iowa city had it going on the one night plus morning I went there simply because the meat puppets were in town at a blind piggish bar. liked the feel of the town way back when. never went to a game. nebraska seems highly risky to be a bust for a michigan fan but just basing that on my impression of the fan base and the scott frost effect.
Go to the game in Houston on Jan 8
it'll be a hoot
Nebraska is by far the best gameday experience of the three and by very far the worst of the three at everything else. A very long trip to the middle of nowhere without much to do other than the game itself.
Maryland is a pretty sterile gameday experience but if you're making a weekend of it, College Park is just minutes from Washington DC so there's plenty to do there if you want to go out, good restaurants etc. Bonus from having been to several UM vs UMD games there is that their student body and fan base are apathetic about football so it's like 80% Michigan fans.
I've never been to a football game at Minnesota, but the Twin Cities are a lot of fun and early October should allow you to miss their worst winter weather.
I don’t care much for PSU’s Stadium (A draconian metal structure in a muddy field) or their fans (worse than OSU, but better than MSU). Nebraska is right at the top with Iowa and Wisconsin. Most of the others I’ve been to are so-so (Indiana has improved their crib of late) with less extreme fan bases. I’m headed to Minnesota to win the jug this year, I want to see their new facility.
New?
If your primary focus is the game and the game day experience - Nebraska by a mile. Nice people and fun stadium.
If your primary focus is the weekend experience leading up to the game I’d recommend Minnesota. Lots to do on campus and the stadium environment is pretty cool too (so I’ve heard, never been to this stadium)
If your primary focus is going to an away game that feels like a home game go to Maryland. It’s second only to Northwestern in being a “home away from home” for Michigan.
Have fun!
I live in Virginia and go to Maryland games. It's a shitty campus and the game experience isn't great.
Everyone says Nebraska is fun.. Go there. Probably cheaper to travel to also
Unless you live within a few hours driving distance of Lincoln, it’s cheaper to travel to DC for the weekend of the Michigan game than figuring out how you’re getting to Lincoln affordably for the weekend of the Michigan game.
Nebraska is supposed to be iconic. The others don’t really count as game day experiences.
You're not missing much with PSU.
My vote would be Nebraska for the stadium/gameday experience, Minnesota if you're making a weekend of it.
Penn State is an absolute pain to get there. Probably comparable to Lincoln in that way, though I've never been to the latter.
State College could be a fun town for a night or maybe even a weekend, but mid-November isn't the ideal time to visit either.
Edit: after reading you're not considering that game, all I can offer is that Maryland was the easiest gameday experience I've had in terms of a road game. Easy to get there, easy to park, easy walk to the stadium, no problems tailgating, cheap tickets, fans were no problem (because 60% were rooting for Michigan), got out easily after the game. Not much of an atmosphere but trouble-free.
I like Iowa, easy for me to get to and very easy parking, Usually a lot of good seats or a low price. I never had a problem with their fans. But my favorite road site to visit is IU, their fans are super nice and I get. excellent seats.
I've been to Maryland. It was a fun experience but not a very notable place to go unless you want to tie in a DC trip. It's a nice enough campus but not a memorable gameday experience.
I went to Minneapolis a while back, but for a Lions game. Amazing city and lots to see and do. Great neighborhoods and very walkable. The people are unbelievably friendly. Was stopped many times pregame to shake hands and be told "thanks so much for coming." It's a cheap flight from DTW if that's your home base. Would love to get back there for a M game.
Have heard great things about Nebraska but haven't been.
I've been to all of them. I agree with the other comments here -- Lincoln had the best game-day experience but it's conveniently located 600 miles from anywhere. Minnesota has a very nice stadium, and early October is a great time to visit. I'm planning to go this year.
But, if you have faith in the team...
The NCAA credits Michigan with 989 wins. (Bentley says 988, I think owing to leaving out a game against Ann Arbor HS that the NCAA counts).
Maryland is the 11th game of the season.
I'm heading to Nebraska. Haven't been to Lincoln since 1972 or 73 when I was very young. Not expecting a lot in town, but the fans I do know are very nice.
I'm a Minnesota grad school alum. Never went to a game at the Metrodome but the city is one of my favorites.
Really like Iowa City. It's a mini Ann Arbor in my book.
Finally, contrary to some here, I loved my experience in State College. Was a three hour drive from Pittsburgh. Tailgating fans were really nice to us in our Michigan jerseys. It's quite an experience, especially during the whiteout we lost in 2010, but Denard was on fire that game. (He ran and passed for 90% of our total yards that game.) Maybe the best single game performance I've seen in person by a player, Desmond vs ND in '91 as a close second.
If my math is correct if UM is undefeated going into Maryland they would be playing for the programs 1000 win. That would be pretty cool to attend.
also I love DC so that would be my choice.
What J-Redux said two post up.
I'm headed out to Minnesota, for what will be my 10th. Oddly enough, @Nebraska, @ Maryland, and @ Penn State are the ones I'm missing and all on the 2023 slate. Going Pokemon on all of them would be fun, before we at the LAs next year.
For game day experience, definitely Nebraska. If you go, I would advise getting seats in the newer part of the stadium. Some of the older parts have ridiculously long stair climbs to and from seats. Also be sure to get a runza. They are similar to pasties and were called bierocks when brought to the area by Prussian immigrants.
Penn State and Nebraska have the best game day experiences. I went with my daughter to Penn State in 2019 and Nebraska in 2021. Both have a big tailgating scene. Take a trip to the creamy at PSU and catch the Haymarket area in Lincoln.
I haven't been to Minnesota for game in almost 40 years but have made a few trips to Maryland. Both are in big cities so there are things to do. Maryland does not have much of a game day experience but there are a lot of Michigan fans there.
Staee is ... Staee. Nuff said.
I'd vote Nebraska...I guess I just did.
I'd be curious also to peoples thoughts along these lines on typical rival fan experiences. Whether at home or away. Mine have been with NW, Illinois, WMU, Iowa, MSU, Utah where we interacted. I have nothing bad to say about any of these as they were low key and my Spartan interaction was when dating a Spartan during college early '80's at their place several times (although they did pass my girlfriend all the way up the stadium in a unwanted crowd surf which I found funny-no obvious groping just delayed her restroom trip). Collegial and not mean spirited then.
I would go to any of the B10 venues except Columbus. I don't get their hatred though. Never looked at it that way despite wanting to crush them. To me hate amplifies their relevance and I respect the Buckeyes as a formidable adversary but only hate direct threats.
I've been to Maryland (2x) and Minnesota once. The Twin Cities are great, and I have family there so it was a fun trip. I went for the 2015 Halloween that Michigan won on goalline stand. Afterwards I was on local train full of Gopher fans who, despite the disappointment, couldn't have been nicer.
I agree with comments below that Maryland's campus isn't great, but it's close to DC which is a nice place to visit and they have a pretty decent beer in the stadium (I think it's called "Terrapin Ale"?). There are always lots of Michigan fans in the stadium.
M2C - Nebraska is fine. Fans treat you fair, they have some cool traditions. However you are in Lincoln NE, not much around. Have been to 2 games there and was fine, but nothing special. We also did a gameday drove in/ drove out from Omaha, so did not hang around as much as I wanted.
I have a group that tries to hit up one new road game a year. Last year we went to the Iowa game, and it could not have been better! Perfect weather, road win, and the Iowa fans were too pissed at their own coaching staff to hate on Michigan fans. Iowa sold beer in their stadium, didn't seem to be any problems from what I saw.
This year, we are going to the Nebraska game. Planning on the 10 hour drive from Grand Rapids on Thursday, free day Friday, game Saturday, then drive home Sunday. Hoping for a repeat of last year's trip.
Besides Iowa, I've attended road games at Wisconsin (2019 - down 35-0 at half), Northwestern (2013 - triple OT win; Dileo slide game!), MSU (2011 - trash tornado game), Jerry's World X 2 - (Florida 2017 & Alabama 2012), Notre Dame (2010 - Denard!), Ohio State (2018 - no comment), Purdue X 2 (2010 - miserable rain game; 2012).
I’d say the game in Indianapolis
If you head to MN.... Surly and Fulton Brewing are fantastic stops.... La Tapatia is in Roseville, 5 or 6 miles away.... the best mexican food i've had since I left TX.... if you go there, hit Bent Brewstillery as well.
we're headed to happy valley, because it fits into our schedule, I won't leave for deer camp until Tuesday.
I went to a Nebraska game in Lincoln a few years back when they played Colorado. The people were very friendly despite losing the contest.
Cool story time:
I went to the game on a whim because family from Colorado was attending and I was within a drivable distance. I didn't have a ticket and the game was sold out. It was Nebraska's first game after a rainout the previous week.
Nebraska has a very vibrant scalping scene that continues long after kickoff. This made people disinclined to sell me a ticket because they thought I was just going to scalp it.
Nebraska permits re-entry to the stadium so I waited near an exit and asked a couple if I could buy a ticket if they weren't going to return. I told them I just wanted to see the game and didn't need (or want) to buy the pair. We agreed in a price and they threw in the 2nd ticket for free.
I walked up to the mad scalping scene and sold my extra ticket for $20 more than I paid for the pair. And that's how I was paid $20 to watch 3.5 quarters of a Nebraska loss in Lincoln.
This year I'll be going to the Maryland game and maybe Minnesota. Away games are fun.
Only do the Maryland game if you are interested in visiting DC while here. College Park is nothing to write home about. Maryland's campus is pretty nice but the stadium atmosphere is nothing special. I go to the games when they play Michigan because I live 20 minutes away, but I wouldn't bother if I had to travel to get here.
I have been to a few Michigan-Maryland games and even a MSU-Maryland game in College Park. It's an underwhelming gameday experience. The campus is not very picturesque and the football culture does not run very deep, so it lacks a certain something. You will see a lot of Michigan fans and tickets are reasonable if not cheap, so there are some positives.
Of course any chance to see our team play in person is great, but in the case of @ Maryland, the environment adds little if anything to the experience.