This is not your grandpappy’s fight song list. It’s only straight bangers here on this list. My criteria was less the history because I think we’re all a little tired of teams like Michigan and Alabama topping lists such as these.
Trust me, there are some big schools in the mix, but you may be surprised to hear the reasons as to why they made this list of top five college football fight songs.
#5 Tennesse Volunteers
The top five begins with a straight banger. It’s not exactly the easiest of tasks to find fight songs that aren’t high pitch and generic. Yet Tennesse has been a top fight song for all these years because they’ve cracked the code. It’s a more intense, deeper sounding song that gets you ready to burst out of the tunnel, unlike some other old fight songs that will put you to sleep.
#4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue as far as team names go, but their fight song is unforgettable. One of the grittiest in the bunch you can tell it doesn’t have that top-10 school feel. It’s a little slower and doesn’t have the same excitement of a traditional song. What it has is better. Great underdog song.
#3 Ohio State Buckeyes
Any song that begins with this strong of a drum-line will grab you by the balls if you’re not paying attention. It hits you hard into a very traditional fight song. I get that college football is history-centric, but the old school fight songs that all sound the same don’t do it for me. You know what does? Drum-lines.
#2 Texas Longhorns
Don’t get me wrong, the Longhorns have a fairly strong beat going here, but unlike most others on this list, it’s not the music that has Texas in the number two spot. What puts them there is the grudge-holding, spiteful lyrics that fit the state better than I’m sure the composers even predicted. The whole song is a shot at Texas A&M. All the way down to the music being a sped up, better version of A&M’s instrumental. Truly one of the great shots fired in music history.
#1 USC
I’ve done some big school bashing in this, but it’s impossible to top USC’s fight song. The song is designed to get you ready for war and after listening to it 10 times in a row for this countdown, I’m ready to run through a wall. Everything USC does is always trendy and this strong, list-topping fight song is no different.
Feature image via Chris Wodniak and USC News