Be it Oregon's Autzen Stadium, Tennessee's Neyland Stadium or the Big House in Ann Arbor, it's never easy going into a loud, hostile stadium. We asked the coaches what's the best way to prepare to play in such a place and this what they said:

Mike Gottfried It's difficult to simulate crowd noise. You can turn up the music real loud, we've all done that before. Then you try to go on ball movement or on a silent count while working in conditions where you can't hear yourself think. Going indoors and jamming the noise, so it's even louder, can be productive. I was at Tennessee a couple of weeks ago and they were doing a loud noise drill for their own home game. The best plan is to signal in everything and signal out everything; make sure your players have all their signals down. That's the only way to do it. The noise really makes a difference. The older the player, the better chance you've got. The more seniors you take into a hostile environment the better off you are. First team quarterbacks have been going down a lot this year on the road. In a place like Autzen stadium, you've got to be better than the other team, the crowd and the officials. It's a long, four quarter game, you have to be patient and acclimate yourself to the environment. If you can do that, you've got a shot.

John Mackovic If you thought the noise was loud last week when UCLA visited Autzen Stadium, wait until the Washington Huskies arrive Saturday. Like so many friendly stadiums around the country, Autzen can be worth as much as seven points to the home team. I always took an aggressive approach to getting ready for loud crowd noise; we pumped the wildest simulated crowd noise available into the stadium for all practices. The players and coaches hated it, but I loved it. Why? Because everyone had to work extra hard on concentration and communication. The players have to be ready to work in an environment that can be very disruptive; without the noise in practice, they will not be ready to adjust at game time. The ?whisper? practice is not worth the effort. Quarterbacks will never know if they are communicating until game time and by then it's too late to find out. The silent count can be effective and definitely should be used when the quarterback is not directly under center. When our Texas team broke the Texas A&M's 31-game home winning in 1995, we were so used to the Aggie fight song and cheers that the players could almost sing along. We had not one procedure or wasted time out because of the noise. Texas A&M probably did not think they needed the work since it was a home game. Wrong! The crowd was unbelievable regardless of who had the ball. They had several false starts and procedure penalties that affected their game. A word to the wise -- home teams should prepare just the same as the visitors. One point: when teams orchestrate the noise from the sideline to disrupt the other team, that is unsportsmanlike and has no place in the game. Play the game and let the fans cheer as loud as they like.

Bill Curry As a sophomore at Georgia Tech in 1961, I ran on the field at LSU where the Bayou Bengals and Chinese Bandits reigned. The roar was unbelievable, unnerving and unforgettable. I can hear it still, and remember the impact it had on our team, which was shut out that night. From that day until this, in some of the biggest and loudest venues through many an ear-splitting moment, I have been a student of noise management. Believe it or not, there is a way to turn it to the visiting team's advantage. Here's how: convince your team the energy exuded from the stands is available to both teams. Teach the players the thrill of competing in the crucible of that sound, regardless of it's source. Give the men a solid way to communicate, using a system of practice methods during team work each day. Where possible, incorporate crowd noise from actual stadium recordings from the stadiums you will visit. If that is not possible, simply have the quarterback whisper at the line of scrimmage. That's right -- whisper. It is amazing how much an offensive unit can improve it's concentration when required to hear a whisper over a 20-minute team period. This works from tackle to tight end, with hand signals to wide receivers and the fullback turning to prompt the tailback. Most shotgun formations function without a snap count, so it's business as usual from the 'gun. The most important aspect of all this is quality preparation. The greatest reward is the wonderful silence that descends when you make big plays and send the fans home early.