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Scarlet Sunrise: EA College Football 25 ranks Ohio Stadium as fourth-toughest place to play

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•06/27/24•

andybackstrom

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EA College Football 25 ranks Ohio Stadium as fourth-toughest place to play

EA College Football 25 is coming out in less than a month. The video game hits the shelves, or next generation console dashboards, on July 19.

Before then, EA will continue to roll out new information for its first college football game in 11 years. It made headlines, and stirred up debates across the country, Tuesday when it dropped its rankings of the toughest places to play.

Here’s how EA described the impact of “Homefield Advantage” in the game:

“Audio and in-game modifiers such as blurred routes, incorrect play art, confidence and composure affects, and screen shaking are some of the immersive impacts away teams and players will be forced to contend with. 

“But not all Homefield Advantages are created equal. 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.”

EA Sports

And here’s EA’s top-10 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)

It’s important to note, as EA points out, these rankings are subject to change in future game updates.

Five of Ohio State’s 2024 opponents ranked in EA’s top-25 toughest places to play: Penn State (No. 6), Oregon (No. 11), Michigan (No. 16), Iowa (No. 20), Michigan State (No. 22). That said, the Buckeyes are playing only three of them — Penn State, Oregon and Michigan State — on the road this season.

Last year, Ohio State played at Wisconsin (No. 7), Michigan (No. 16) and Notre Dame (No. 21).

By the way, “Script Ohio” is officially in the game. So are O-H-I-O chants and a whole lot more.

How they got here: Mapping out career path of each Buckeyes defensive end so far

Ohio State has eight scholarship defensive ends, and each of them has had a different path to this point of his career. For instance, while both Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau arrived as top-five overall prospects in the 2021 class, one got to Ohio State early and the other enrolled two months before the start of his true freshman season.

Then there’s the battle-tested Mitchell Melton, who worked his way back from not one but two season-ending ACL tears earlier in his career and didn’t play his first defensive snap until his fourth year with the program.

And don’t forget about the pairing of Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson, a pass rushing duo that could probably start pretty much anywhere else in the country this season but has decided to stick around to help the Buckeyes do something special in 2024 before they get their moments in the spotlight.

For “Defensive Line Week,” Lettermen Row is mapping out the career paths of each Ohio State defensive end. Go here for that coverage.

Where Ohio State moved the needle with offensive, defensive prospects during official visits

The summer official visit season is over at Ohio State. After hosting a collection of 45 official visitors throughout the month of June, the Buckeyes have already received a handful of commitments.

But more are on the way, and Lettermen Row is highlighting prospects who Ohio State moved the needle for on their respective OVs.

For those offensive prospects, head on over here.

And for those defensive prospects, go here.

Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 65 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 156 days

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