EA Sports jumped back into the world of college football games this week when it released EA Sports College Football 25 for fans who pre-ordered the game. If you didn’t pre-order, don’t worry, you’ll be getting the game in a few days, as the full release will come on July 19.
There were plenty of details about the game that came out a little early, like the best overall teams, the best offenses, the best defenses, and the best players. Now that the game is out, we wanted to help make your lives a little easier by highlighting which teams are the best of the best in the game and got hit with a 90+ overall rating. Only eight teams received this honor, and you can read more about them below.
Georgia Bulldogs: 95 overall
Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are as rock solid as they come, as the team is a 94 on both sides of the football. Their offense is the best in the game, while their defense is second only to Ohio State. The roster is unsurprisingly loaded, with six players in the top-100 of the individual player ratings in the game — FS Malaki Starks and RG Tate Ratledge are the two-best players on the team with 95 overall ratings, while Heisman Trophy contender Carson Beck is a star under center with a 93 rating.
Oregon Ducks: 93 overall
The Ducks are going to put up points in real life, and they’re going to put up points in the game. Led by star quarterback Dillon Gabriel — he transferred in from Oklahoma this offseason — Oregon has the second-best offense in the nation with a 94 offensive rating, which is tied with Georgia. Their 90 defensive rating is nothing to sniff at, either.
Ohio State Buckeyes: 93 overall
The Buckeyes are loaded. While they’ve been known for their offense during Ryan Day’s tenure in Columbus, that unit is an 89 overall, which is tied for fifth-best in the game. The defense, meanwhile, has a 96 rating, is the best unit in the country, and is led by star Alabama transfer Caleb Downs — the sophomore safety is a 95 overall and is the fifth-best player in the game. No roster has more players on EA Sports’ top-100 rating than the Buckeyes, which have eight.
Texas Longhorns: 92 overall
While they only have two players in the top-100 player rating — LT Kelvin Banks Jr. is a 94 and QB Quinn Ewers is a 92 — Texas is quite good on both sides of the ball. The Longhorns have the fourth-best offense (91 rating) and the eighth-best defense (88 rating) as they make the jump to the SEC.
Alabama Crimson Tide: 92 overall
No Nick Saban? No problem for the Crimson Tide, which are once again expected to be a juggernaut in real life and in the game. Their six players in the top-100 are tied with Georgia for the second-most in the game — he’s not the best player on the team, but I have a hunch you’re going to have a blast with 90 rated QB Jalen Milroe. Kalen DeBoer’s got a 91 rated offense and a 90 rated defense at his disposal. You’re not going to have fun playing against Bama in this game.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 90 overall
Things might get a little rough offensively if you’re using Notre Dame, which has an 85 offensive rating as the game launches. Defensively? That’s a different story, as the Fighting Irish are nasty on that side of the ball thanks to the sixth-best defense in the game, a 90 rated group led by a pair of stars in the secondary in CB Benjamin Morrison (94 overall) and FS Xavier Watts (92 overall).
LSU Tigers: 90 overall
The inverse of Notre Dame, as LSU’s defense is only an 84 overall, although Harold Perkins is a demon in the game, just like he is in real life. Offensively, they rock, even though Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr. are all gone. The Tigers have the sixth-best offense in the game, as it is rated 89 overall thanks to the best pair of tackles in the country in LT Will Campbell (96 overall, the second-best player in America) and RT Emery Jones Jr. (90 overall).
Clemson Tigers: 90 overall
We have not seen Clemson finish in the top-10 nationally since 2020, but EA Sports is bullish on their chances of changing that this year. Dabo Swinney enters this year with the game’s No. 10 offense (87 offensive rating) and No. 5 defense (90 defensive rating), with a pair of standouts on his defensive line in ROLB Barrett Carter and DT Peter Woods.
Just missed (88 OVR): Utah Utes, Texas A&M Aggies, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ole Miss Rebels, Michigan Wolverines, Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles
