How Do EA College Football 25 Ratings Compare To College Football Odds? 

Anticipation continues to build for the start of college football season. On top of that, EA Sports College Football is back after an 11-year hiatus. The video game drops on July 19 with early access available beginning July 16. In advance of the release, EA Sports has unveiled its rankings for the top 25 teams.

The video game maker has also released its ranks for top offenses and defenses, as well as a list of the toughest stadiums to play in across the land.

When compared to the latest college football odds, there are strong correlations among the top teams expected to be in the title hunt. However, there also are some notable discrepancies. 

Comparing EA Sports College Football 25 rankings to odds

EA Sports assigns each college football team a numerical ranking. This number represents the team’s overall strength in comparison to other squads. The table below has the full EA top 25 rankings, along with the team’s latest odds at college football betting sites. 

Comparing EA ratings to win totals

National title favorites like Georgia & Ohio State top the EA Sports rankings

In early college football playoff odds, Georgia is the favorite to win the national title, followed by Ohio State. Texas, Oregon, and Alabama round out the top five. Those five teams also top the EA rankings, albeit in a slightly different order.  

Both the title odds and EA rankings agree that the Bulldogs are the top team heading into the season. Sportsbooks lines have the Buckeyes second, but EA has them tied with the Ducks. 

The Longhorns are battling for third place in betting odds with Oregon. EA has them neck-and-neck with the Crimson Tide, who hold the fifth spot at most sportsbooks before the coming campaign. 

A little further down the list, EA views Clemson, Notre Dame, and LSU as just outside the top five. Title odds agree that the Fighting Irish and LSU are top-10 teams, with Clemson hovering among the top 15. 

Other discrepancies exist between the odds and ranks throughout the list, but one outlier stands out dramatically. Colorado is 16th as far as the EA ranking is concerned, but the Buffaloes rank 11th of 16 teams in odds to win the Big 12. 

Georgia, Oregon tied for top offenses in EA College Football

Beyond the overall ranks, EA also assigns a numerical value to each club’s strength on both sides of the ball. Below are the top 10 teams in both categories.  

Four national title favorites land in the top five in both of EA’s metrics. Perhaps further cementing its status as the preseason team to beat, Georgia ranks first on offense and second on defense. Oregon is behind Ohio State in title odds but ahead of it by five ranking points on offense. 

The Buckeyes have the best defense in the nation as far as EA is concerned. However, the offense is fifth, five ranking points behind both Georgia and Oregon. Over the offseason, Ohio State made a splash by hiring Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.  

Most recently the head coach at UCLA, Kelly rose to prominence with an innovative offensive approach during his time at Oregon. Stints with the NFL’s Eagles and 49ers followed, but he couldn’t transfer the magic over to the pro ranks. 

Meanwhile, there’s a race for the QB1 role. Last season’s starter, Kyle McCord, has transferred to Syracuse. The race is expected to come down to Will Howard, a transfer from Kansas State, junior Devin Brown, and freshman Julian Sayin.  

Texas A&M takes top spot for toughest place to play 

Many college football stadiums have reputations as challenging environments for opponents. EA has tried to quantify that by ranking the toughest places to play for the 2024-25 college football campaign.   

• 1 – Kyle Field (Texas A&M)
• 2 – Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama)
• 3 – Tiger Stadium (LSU)
• 4 – Ohio Stadium (Ohio State)
• 5 – Sanford Stadium (Georgia)
• 6 – Beaver Stadium (Penn State)
• 7 – Camp Randall Stadium (Wisconsin)
• 8 – Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Oklahoma)
• 9 – Doak S. Campbell Stadium (Florida State)
• 10 – Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Florida) 

SEC country claims four of the top five spots and six of the top 10. Big Ten stadiums are well-represented with three, with the ACC’s Florida State rounding out the list. Interestingly, some traditionally raucous locales failed to break into the top 10 for this year’s edition of the game. 

Notable outliers include Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, which has a capacity of 101,915. The Volunteers’ home field is 13th on the list. Defending national champion Michigan boasts the biggest college football stadium by capacity, at 107,601. Often called the “Big House,” Michigan Stadium ranks 16th on EA’s list.  

Why did it take so long for a new college football video game? 

In 1993, EA Sports debuted a new video game franchise with the release of “Bill Walsh College Football.” The game became quite a hit, and EA released a new version annually for the next two decades under various names, with the run coming to an end with “NCAA Football 14.”

The popular game was halted due to legal issues, mainly related to trademark licensing and the use of player likenesses. In early 2021, progress finally resumed as the company announced that “EA Sports College Football” was in the pipeline. 

There was still work to be done. A deal was reached to use team names, uniforms, stadiums, and traditions in gameplay. In 2023, the player likeness issue was solved when the NCAA softened its stance on athlete compensation. 

The long-awaited return of EA’s college football game is finally here. Expectations are high on all fronts for the title to be a huge seller and to quickly reclaim its status as one of EA’s most popular yearly releases.