Clemson ranked highly in new EA College Football 25 game

Cade Klubnik commands a Top 10 offense in the new game.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Saturday, June 29 2024

EA's College Football 25 is a game college football superfans have been waiting on for a decade, and this year's edition looks to be favorable to those wanting to play with Clemson's Tigers.

Ahead of the game's July 19 launch, the company released its team and stadium environment rankings this week, which affect initial single gameplay and Dynasty Mode.

Clemson will likely be out of the preseason Top 10 in the real world for the time since 2015, but the Tigers debut at No. 6 in the power rankings for the game.

Clemson is rated 90 out of 100 overall, trailing only Georgia (95), Ohio State (93), Oregon (93), Alabama (92), and Texas (92). Notre Dame and LSU also share the 90 rating.

The Top 10 Overall Teams in #CFB25 👀

Who are you taking to the National Championship?

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— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) June 28, 2024

How do the Tigers get there? With Top 10 rankings on both offense and defense.

That's led by a No. 5 spot and 90 overall rating on defense, which is tied with No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Alabama in the unit measure. Ohio State (96) and Georgia (94) lead there.

Offensively, EA sees a big step for Clemson with a No. 10 ranking (87 overall), for a team coming off a No. 51 finish in ESPN's SP+ offensive efficiency metric. Clemson neutral-site Atlanta opener Georgia and Oregon have the best offensive ratings (94), followed by Alabama (91), Texas (91) and then five teams sharing an 89 rating (Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Colorado and Missouri).

Earlier in the week, the outlet's ranking of the toughest places to play drew the ire of Tiger fans and more across the sport, with Clemson's Death Valley checking in at No. 12 in the metric. In the Dabo Swinney head coaching era, Clemson has played three in the Top 10 with No. 1 Texas A&M (Kyle Field), No. 5 Georgia (Sanford Stadium) and No. 9 Florida State (Doak S. Campbell Stadium), going 4-4 in that span.

Per EA, the metric was assembled by "factoring in historical stats such as home winning percentage, home game attendance, active home winning streaks, team prestige, and more." The ranking plays a factor in gameplay, as competing in tougher environments affects the road team and individual players, particularly their experience levels.

Kicking off #CFB25 Rankings Week with the Toughest Places to Play

Are we making friends yet?

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— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) June 25, 2024