EA Sports College Football 25 Early Access Release Date, Top-Ranked Teams/Players, And Everything We Know (2024)

By Eddie Makuch on July 15, 2024 at 11:41AM PDT

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For the first time since 2014, EA is releasing a college football game--and people are pretty excited about. Even more so now that the release is just days away. EA Sports College Football releases on July 19 behind a mountain of hype and some notable changes.

First up, EA is no longer working with the NCAA, which is why the series has changed names. In another big step, the game features real player names and likenesses thanks to the Name, Image, Likeness, (NIL) program in college sports. Players are being paid for their appearance in the game.

While the NCAA is not involved in EA Sports College Football, EA has separately struck deals with the relevant rights-owners to secure 134 FBS schools, including their stadiums, fight songs, mascots, and thousands of players.

In this post we're rounding up everything we know about EA Sports College Football 25, including the game's release date, platforms, new gameplay features, and more.

EA Sports College Football 25 releases on July 19. People who buy the Deluxe Edition can start playing in early access on July 16 (or technically, on July 15). Additionally, there is a free 10-hour trial that begins on July 16 via EA Play.

Preorder EA Sports College Football 25

EA Sports College Football 25 is available now to preorder, and there are a number of different editions to choose from. For more, be sure to consult GameSpot's EA Sports College Football 25 preorder guide.

You can watch the overview announcement trailer for EA Sports College Football 25 below, while another trailer below it shows 20 minutes of raw gameplay footage. The game looks to be shaping up pretty nicely, and fans have expressed their excitement about it on social media.

EA Sports College Football 25 platforms

EA Sports College Football 25 will be released across PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. There is no version of the game for PS4/Xbox One or PC.

The new college football game is priced at $70 for the standard edition, $100 for the Deluxe edition, and $150 for the MVP bundle. Head to GameSpot's EA Sports College Football 25 pre-order guide to learn more.

EA Sports College Football 25 Ultimate Team details

Like EA's other sports games, EA Sports College Football 25 will have an Ultimate Team mode. On July 9, EA revealed many more details about it as part of an in-depth blog post. For anyone just catching up, Ultimate Team is a mode where players assemble a roster of players to create a fantasy team, and then use that team to play other people or AI teams.

In addition to current and retired college football players, the Ultimate Team roster includes active NFL players like Patrick Mahomes, Davante Adams, Christian McCaffrey, Josh Allen, Ceedee Lamb, Stefon Diggs, Joe Burrow, and others.

There are numerous challenges for players to take on, beginning with more than 100 when the game launches, and EA says there is a good deal of variety and multiple themes for them.

Of course, Ultimate Team being EA's big money-maker, you can expect EA Sports College Football's Ultimate Team mode to carry this forward. Players can visit the Marketplace to buy more packs, with new players coming to the game on a weekly basis.

You can read the full blog post to learn more about how Ultimate Team mode factors into EA Sports College Football 25.

The first thing fans may notice is that EA Sports College Football 25 simply looks a lot better than the last entry in the series. After all, it's been 10 years--which is an eternity in the video game space.

EA says player ratings are constantly changing throughout the game, so players will need to leverage their strategy skills and execution on the sticks to win. The game also has a "wear and tear" system, so when "the hits add up, players wear down." You will have to to manage your players' health, fatigue, and injuries to lead your team to victory.

A "pre-snap recognition" feature is now in the game, too, which means every snap matters more, EA said. What's more, EA Sports College Football 25 has a homefield advantage system that makes it harder for away teams to win at the toughest arenas. Speaking of the toughest arenas, EA on June 25 released a list of the "toughest places to play" in the game, and the list can be seen below. The ranking is based on things like historical statistics like home winning percentage, home game attendance, home winning streaks, "team prestige," and other elements.

EA also released a rundown of the overall team power rankings, and Georgia sits atop the list, ranked 95 OVR. Rounding out the top five are Ohio State (93 OVR), Oregon (93 OVR), Alabama (92 OVR), and Texas (92 OVR). You can see the top 25 below.

Toughest places to play in EA Sports College Football 25

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
11. Autzen Stadium - Oregon
12. Memorial Stadium - Clemson
13. Neyland Stadium - Tennessee
14. Jordan-Hare Stadium - Auburn
15. Williams-Brice Stadium - South Carolina
16. Michigan Stadium - Michigan
17. Lane Stadium - Virginia Tech
18. Rice-Eccles Stadium - Utah
19. Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium - Texas
20. Kinnick Stadium - Iowa
21. Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame
22. Spartan Stadium - Michigan State
23. Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium - Arkansas
24. Albertsons Stadium - Boise State
25. Davis Wade Stadium - Mississippi State

Top teams

1. Georgia - 95 OVR
2. Ohio State - 93 OVR
3. Oregon - 93 OVR
4. Alabama - 92 OVR
5. Texas - 92 OVR
6. Clemson - 90 OVR
7. Notre Dame - 90 OVR
8. LSU - 90 OVR
9. Penn State - 88 OVR
10. Utah - 88 OVR
11. Michigan - 88 OVR
12. Florida State - 88 OVR
13. Miami - 88 OVR
14. Texas A&M - 88 OVR
15. Ole Miss - 88 OVR
16. Colorado - 87 OVR
17. Oklahoma - 87 OVR
18. Wisconsin - 87 OVR
19. USC - 87 OVR
20. Virginia Tech - 87 OVR
21. NC State - 87 OVR
22. Kansas - 87 OVR
23. Arizona - 87 OVR
24. Oklahoma State - 87 OVR
25. Iowa - 87 OVR

Top Players

EA Sports has also released the player ratings for EA Sports College Football 25. You can see the top 10 players in the image below, while the full top 100 list is available on EA's website.

In terms of game modes, EA Sports College Football 25 has a Dynasty mode that has players creating a coach and controlling a team through a season. This includes fine details like creating a coaching staff and even using the transfer portal. Then there is Road to Glory, which is a mode where players create a player and take them through all facets of the game, from getting a solid GPA in the classroom to excelling on the field and potentially winning a Heisman.

Of course, EA Sports College Football 25 has an Ultimate Team component. Similar to how it works in EA's other roster of sports games, players can build a "dream team" and put their teams to the test in single-player challenges or against the community online. This being Ultimate Team, it can be safely assumed this mode will feature a wide array of microtransactions and loot boxes.

There is also a Road to the CFP mode that gives players a "new way to play competitively" as they try to take their favorite team to the College Football Playoffs and ultimately the National Championship.

Sights and sounds

EA Sports has released a "sights and sounds" trailer for EA Sports College Football 25 that runs through some of the gameday specifics that fans can expect with the upcoming game. As you can see in the trailer, College Football 25 features team-specific chants, runouts, and even animations for specific things like how Notre Dame players tap the "Play Like A Champion" sign before hitting the field. There are also 50 total mascots in the game and 10 real animals who were recorded using motion-capture for the game. The game's stadiums were created with a great attention to detail, EA said, noting that more than 80 schools sent in reference materials, providing on average 1,000 photos of their facilities.

Be sure to take a look at EA's full blog post on the "sights and sounds" of College Football 25, which runs through other elements like crowd noise and themes, fight songs, hand signal traditions, chants, and more.

Why is NCAA not involved?

EA Sports worked with the NCAA on numerous college football games over the years, but the partnership ended with 2013's NCAA Football 14 due to a variety of issues, including player lawsuits. A decade later, EA opted to break off its relationship with the NCAA and instead sign licensing deals with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and others to get the rights to the 134 FBS schools in the game, along with team-specific elements like stadiums, fight songs, mascots, and more. Fans of college football know that the "gameday experience" includes much more than just school names, after all.

The cover of EA Sports College Football 25 has three athletes on it: Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Texas QB Quinn Ewers, and Colorado wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter. These athletes are on the standard and deluxe covers. The MVP bundle, which includes copies of EA Sports College Football and Madden NFL 25, doesn't have any specific cover stars.

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