College Football 26 Players Rankings are Fun, but are they accurate?
STILLWATER – I picked up my preordered copy of College Football 26 from EA Sports on my lunch break on Thursday. I’m not a fanatic like some, so I didn’t do the special early release version, and I even waited until Friday evening once my kid went to sleep to play it.
Right off the rip: it’s a lot of fun and it’s better than last year’s version. It’s exactly what you’d want from a new version of an existing game in that it improves upon what already existed without going overboard, while also adding some fan service features fans felt should’ve been in last year’s game.
I’m fixing to head off to Wichita for a few days with the family, so I’ll have to wait until next week to play it some more. However, I’ve a few thoughts from my initial playthrough. I think the EA crew did as best they could ranking the team without anyone, coaches included, knowing how this team is going to play together.
Mike Gundy said on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days there are 65 new players on this year’s roster, 35 of which didn’t even show up until June. So, while the coaches can watch tape and see the guys work out, they really have no clue who will show up and perform come Fall Camp July 27.
Just a couple of notable rankings would be Zane Flores and Hauss Hejny both having a 73 overall ranking. Running back Kalib Hicks checks in at 80, as does Sesi Vailahi, with Freddie Brock the highest-overall ranked OSU player in the game with an 87. Trent Howland has an 82.
One thing I noticed was Ayo Shotomide-King, who has a 71, was incredibly fast.
Now, EA Sports can’t be at practices for teams, so it is impossible for them to know how good a player is or isn’t. If they could, they would know that Rodney Fields Jr. was the best back in the spring or that Malik Charles was one of the most explosive defenders and is now close to 280 pounds. Back to offense, receiver Sam Jackson V is a strong weapon on both offense and special teams and deserving of better than a 76 ranking.
It’s a game. Have fun with it like I am, or at least will once I’m back from vacation, but don’t expect it to accurately predict how the Pokes’ season will be.
