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Greg McElroy lists his top tailgates in college football

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko07/12/23nickkosko59

Greg McElroy listed his top tailgates in college football and the ones fans should check out for the 2023 regular season.

There are plenty of options, but five stand out among the rest according to the former Alabama quarterback. What tailgate would you choose? Or would go somewhere else?

McElroy revealed his list on Always College Football.

LSU-Ole Miss

OXFORD, MS – OCTOBER 21: Fans gather in the Grove for tailgating on the Ole Miss campus before the start of a college college football game between the LSU Tigers and Mississippi Rebels on October 21, 2017, at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium in Oxford, MS. LSU won 40-24. (Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“LSU-Ole Miss is always going to be top 10,” McElroy said. “Like that doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. That was always going to be top 10 to get those two teams together … I mean, the fan bases are very different and yet very similar all at the same time. So that’s got to be one, it’d be at or near the top of the list.”

Anywhere in the south is going to be crazy. Not to mention the SEC tailgates between two schools that have some bad blood playing in the same division. Sign us up for that one.

Texas-Oklahoma

DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 06: fans observe ESPN College Gameday before the Red River Showdown between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns on October 6, 2018, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by John Korduner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I also think even though it’s not a traditional tailgate environment, Texas-Oklahoma is always a very unique scene,” McElroy said. “You’re going to the state fair, you wear your crimson and cream or you wear your burnt orange, that one to me is always going to be unique.”

It’s not on the campus of either team, but both schools show out. And as McElroy mentioned, the state fair is absurd. Where else can you get great food and great drinks outdoors in the middle of a fair when one of the biggest college football games of the year happens? Tough to beat.

Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, OK – NOVEMBER 04: An all in Oklahoma State Cowboys fan ride during a college football game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on November 4, 2017, at the Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, OK. (Photo by David Stacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I also think this year I want to go to Stillwater for Bedlam,” McElroy said. “If you think about it, there’s no love lost between the two programs already, but you throw in the fact that those two teams are going to tee it up for the final time, perhaps. They say it’s the final time. I don’t necessarily buy that, but I gotta take their word for it. I think that one’s going to be unique.”

If Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are truly going to play each other for the last time once the Sooners go to the SEC, then get out to Stillwater this instant. The Cowboys are going to go full throttle to beat their rival in the supposed final meeting. Whether they play again or not, it’ll party from sun up to sun down.

Pitt-West Virginia

Dec 01, 2007 – Morgantown, West Virginia, USA – Fans tailgate with barbecue food at the Pittsburgh Panthers against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Pitt beat the No.2 ranked football team 13-9. (Photo by Bob Leverone/Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

“I’m gonna go to Milan Puskar Stadium for the Backyard Brawl,” McElroy said. “You give me Pitt, you give me West Virginia, in Morgantown. Good luck. That’s going to be a scene there on the 16th of September. That will be as chaotic and as hectic and as much fun as pretty much any now it might be pretty hostile.”

This is one of the nastiest rivalries in college football and if you place this game in Morgantown, you better buckle up for chaos. The party is endless out there for a school that’s known for its football tailgates. This should be a fun one in 2023.

Coastal Carolina-Appalachian State

College Football: Appalachian State fans cheer and celebrate vs James Madison at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Boone, NC 9/24/2022 CREDIT: Carlos M. Saavedra (Photo by Carlos M. Saavedra/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164171)

“Appalachian State is awesome,” McElroy said. “Get to Boone and just check it out. I’ve been in that stadium. I’ve seen it. I think that place is awesome. Now unfortunately, I would have told you North Carolina last year. That would have been the one that you would want to circle. This year is a little bit trickier to figure out, maybe for the Coastal Carolina game. That’s on October 10. Maybe that’s the one you want to go to but either way, Boone, North Carolina is awesome.”

This one is a bit outside the box, considering it’s not Power Five. But Boone is an underrated environment and Appalachian State is no stranger to big moments. Anybody remember Michigan? 

Okay, that was in Ann Arbor, but still. We’ll take McElroy’s word for it.