EA Sport's College Football 25 Puts FSU Football's Defense Among Best In The Country

The Seminoles fell just outside of the top-10 in College Football 25's overall defensive ratings.

Florida State football players Sione Lolohea (13) and Patrick Payton (11) take part in the final Tour of Duty winter workouts ahead of 2024 spring practices on Thursday, March 7, 2024. / Ehsan Kassim/Tallahassee Democrat / USA

Every day that passes means we're getting closer and closer to the release of EA Sports's College Football 25 video game as the developer returns to the space for the first time in over a decade. With so much hype and anticipation, the company is teasing fans prior to the launch by providing an early look at features, graphics, and ratings.

On Thursday, the top 25 rated offenses and defenses were unveiled, leading to plenty of uproar. Florida State ended up being included on both lists but EA Sports is much higher on the defense, expecting the unit to be among the best in the country at No. 11 overall with an 88 rating.

That ranked behind programs such as Ohio State (1), Georgia (2), Oregon (3), Alabama (4), and Clemson (5). The big question marks were USC (No. 16) and Colorado (No. 20), two teams that were ranked near the bottom of college football in defense last year. Outside of the Tigers, FSU is only scheduled to face two other top-25 defenses in the virtual world this upcoming season; North Carolina (No. 23) and Florida (No. 25).

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This is about the right spot for the Seminoles with the defense replacing stars such as Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Fabien Lovett, Kalen DeLoach, Tatum Bethune, Renardo Green, Jarrian Jones, and Akeem Dent. With that being said, there's a lot of talent waiting in the wings and the coaching staff also hit the transfer portal to acquire a couple of players who are expected to step into sizable roles.

Returners such as defensive end Patrick Payton, cornerback Azareye'h Thomas, defensive tackle Darrell Jackson, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, linebacker DJ Lundy, and safety Shyheim Brown project to be some of the higher-rated players on the team. It'll be interesting to see where transfers such as defensive end Marvin Jones Jr., cornerback Earl Little Jr., linebacker Shawn Murphy, and linebacker Cam Riley fit in around them.

EA Sports will wrap up the week by releasing the overall team power rankings on Friday. FSU's offense came in slightly lower at No. 22 overall with an 83 rating.

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