EA Sports is high on the University of Utah in the new College Football 25 video game.
The Utes’ Rice-Eccles Stadium has already been ranked a top 20 toughest place to play for the game that will be released next month, and on Thursday, EA Sports revealed that Utah was a top-15 school (almost top 10 across the board) in both offensive and defensive rankings.
On Friday, that jumped up a notch as EA Sports released its overall team power rankings for College Football 25.
The Utes came in at No. 10, with an 88 overall rating.
That’s in line with Utah’s offensive power ranking (11th nationally at 87) and defensive power ranking (10th, 88).
Utah is one spot ahead of the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines.
There are eight teams with an overall rating of 90 or above, while Utah is one of seven teams with an 88 rating.
It’s important to note: Team ratings are subject to change in future updates of the game.
Only the power rankings’ top 25 were revealed Friday, but it was clear Utah is the favorite in its first season in the Big 12, at least in the video game.
“Utah will get yet another year of Cameron Rising this year after he received another year of eligibility,” On3′s Nick Schultz wrote in assessing the Utes’ placement in the power rankings. “Along with the usual toughness the Utes display under Whittingham, it’ll be hard to count them out in their new conference, especially after the departures of Oklahoma and Texas.”
The next Big 12 team in the College Football 25 team power rankings was Colorado at No. 16, with an 87 overall rating.
Three other league teams also made the top 25 in succession — Kansas at No. 22 (87 overall), Arizona at No. 23 (87) and Oklahoma State at No. 24 (87).
The biggest question was how a 4-8 Colorado team rated so highly — though not a surprise after Thursday’s offensive and defensive power rankings were released and the Buffaloes were a top-20 team in both.
“It seems highly unlikely that Colorado will be ranked 16th when the preseason polls drop in August, so the Buffaloes are a tad over-ranked,” The Athletic’s Antonio Morales wrote in analyzing the power rankings. “But they do have Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, who will likely be two of the game’s highest-rated players at their respective positions, which gives Colorado a boost.”
The Athletic’s Chris Vannini said he believes the Big 12′s Kansas State, as well as Tennessee, were notable snubs from the top 25.
“Kansas State and Tennessee should be in the top 25. They each boast loads of talent on both sides of the ball and exciting young quarterbacks in Avery Johnson (K-State) and Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee), but it’s clear based on EA Sports’ team offense rankings that the developers are being careful with unproven quarterbacks,” Vannini wrote.
“Neither is a top-25 offense at game launch, and only Kansas State’s defense is ranked at 24th, so ultimately, it’s not a surprise that they’re outside the top 25 overall team rankings. I suspect the first game update early in the season will change that.”
The EA Sports College Football 25 video game will be released July 19, with early access three days prior for those who purchase the deluxe edition or MVP bundle (with Madden 25).
