Did both Alabama and LSU get snubbed in this ranking for EA Sports College Football 25?
We are a month away from the release of EA Sports College Football 25 as the game makes its return after a 10-year hiatus. As we continue to countdown the days until release in July, the game is dropping rankings each week leading into the release. And on Tuesday, they released their ‘toughest places to play’ list in the game, snubbing both the Alabama and LSU football programs of the No. 1 spot.
Instead of Bryant-Denny Stadium or Tiger Stadium being ranked No. 1, the game has Kyle Field home of the Texas A&M Aggies in the top spot.
The top 25 list is as follows:
- Kyle Field – (Texas A&M University)
- Bryant-Denny Stadium – (University of Alabama)
- Tiger Stadium – (LSU)
- Ohio Stadium – (Ohio State University)
- Sanford Stadium – (University of Georgia)
- Beaver Stadium – (Penn State University)
- Camp Randall Stadium – (University of Wisconsin)
- Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – (University of Oklahoma)
- Doak S. Campbell Stadium – (Florida State University)
- Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – (University of Florida)
- Autzen Stadium – (University of Oregon)
- Memorial Stadium – (Clemson University)
- Neyland Stadium – (University of Tennessee)
- Jordan-Hare Stadium – (Auburn University)
- Williams-Brice Stadium – (University of South Carolina)
- Michigan Stadium – (University of Michigan)
- Lane Stadium – (Virginia Tech University)
- Rice-Eccles Stadium – (University of Utah)
- Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (University of Texas)
- Kinnick Stadium – (University of Iowa)
- Notre Dame Stadium – (University of Notre Dame)
- Spartan Stadium – (Michigan State University)
- Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium – (University of Arkansas)
- Albertsons Stadium – (Boise State University)
- Davis Wade Stadium – (Mississippi State University)
The rankings factor in a few key things including “historical stats” such as home winning percentage, attendance for home games, active home winning streaks, and team prestige.
Did Alabama and LSU get snubbed?
With EA Sports using those metrics, there’s a case for Kyle Field being the toughest place to play overall in the game. BUT both Alabama and LSU have an argument in this one.
Both have incredible home-field advantages, making them the two toughest places to play not only in the SEC but in all of college football. LSU finished 6th in attendance for the 2023 season with 100,742 and Alabama was 7th at 100,077. While Texas A&M wasn’t far behind at No. 8, they sat at 99,234.
The Athletic’s Max Olson also believes LSU should be No. 1:
Max Olson: I think many college football fans will be surprised to see any school other than LSU in the No. 1 spot. I haven’t played this game yet, but I’m already nervous about my Dynasty team’s five-star freshman QB having to play a Saturday night game in Death Valley. He’s not ready for it, especially if the reports are true that “Neck” is indeed in the game.
Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic also points out something interesting about Texas A&M being in the No. 1 spot, saying they were ranked too high:
Khan: I hate to say it, but Kyle Field at No. 1 seems a tad too high. Not because there’s anything wrong with the fans. It is arguably the best game day atmosphere in the sport, with more than 30,000 towel-waving students yelling from start to finish as part of a raucous crowd of 100,000-plus. But “toughest” implies it’s hard to win there, and for opponents, it hasn’t been as tough in the last decade.
Appalachian State infamously upset the Aggies in 2022, a season in which they finished 4-3 at home. In the Kevin Sumlin era, A&M had a losing record at home against SEC foes and didn’t beat an SEC West team in Kyle Field for two consecutive years. That’s on the teams, not the stadium or fans, but it should be taken into account.
The only time this century that Texas A&M has had an undefeated home record in a season is 2020, the year full crowds were not allowed because of pandemic restrictions. The next most recent season that A&M went undefeated at home was 1999. If you’re the No. 1 toughest place to play in the country, going unbeaten at home should be a more frequent occurrence.
It’s only a football game but with no college football games until late August, we will take any topics we can get to argue. And both Alabama and LSU should be deserving of the top spot.
