Sanford Stadium among EA's toughest places to play, Georgia to face a few intimidating atmospheres

EA Sports released its list of the top 25 toughest places to play in the upcoming College Football 25 game, and Georgia’s Sanford Stadium makes the top-5 at No. 5. Kyle Field (Texas A&M), Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama), Tiger Stadium (LSU) and Ohio Stadium (Ohio State) are the only ones ahead of it, but the rest of the list does show the difficulty of UGA’s schedule in 2024 (and 2025).

The Bulldogs will travel to Alabama (No. 2) and Texas (No. 19) this fall. Trips to Tennessee (No. 13), Auburn (No. 14) and Mississippi State (No. 25) await UGA next season. Of course there’s also Ole Miss and Kentucky on the docket for 2024, and while those two teams might not have the most intimidating environments, their talented rosters make the road tests tough.

“Their road schedule is just something else. I want to say this about Georgia’s schedule quickly before we get too far into it, and this where things get tricky when we talk schedules. If you take the Georgia logo off this schedule and put just about any other team in college football on it, we’re talking about it the way we talk about Florida’s schedule,” ESPN’s Cole Cubelic said during an SEC Network schedule special earlier this month. “The reason we don’t is because it’s Georgia and what they’ve been the last three years and how dominant they’ve been and the talent they have. That is a ridiculously tough schedule that they probably will not get the credit for at any point in time this season that they deserve.”

“The schedule in 2024 for Georgia is more difficult than they’ve had the last three seasons. The road show in and of itself is wild,” On3’s JD PicKell added on his show. “You’re at Alabama, you’re at Texas, you’re at Ole Miss, at Kentucky is also a little more sneaky than it sounds.”

EA COLLEGE FOOTBALL 25 TOUGHEST PLACES TO PLAY

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. Albertson Stadium – Boise State
25. Davis Wade Stadium – Mississippi State

“Not all Homefield Advantages are created equal,” EA shared via On3’s Pete Nakos. “The Development Team worked to compile a list of the Top 25 Toughest Places to Play, factoring in historical stats such as home winning %, home game attendance, active home winning streaks, team prestige, and more.”

Georgia enters 2024 with the nation’s longest home winning streak at 25 games, not having dropped one between the hedges since 2019. Meanwhile, in true road atmospheres, UGA also has an impressive streak with 15 consecutive victories, dating back to a loss at Alabama in 2020.

EA will continue it’s “Rankings Week” by rolling out a “Sights and Sounds Deep Dive” on Wednesday and the “Top Offenses and Defenses” on Thursday before rounding out the week with “Overall Team Power Rankings” come Friday.

The full release of EA Sports College Football 25 is a date circled on calendars by fans and gamers alike on July 19. Folks who purchase certain packages will receive three-day early access.