Ranking the top 5 Penn State teams you would have wanted to play with in EA Sports College Football

Penn State football is 88-39 in the James Franklin era. Five of his 10 teams have won 10 games or more. A quintet of them made a New Year’s Six Bowl game appearance. And, one of them won a Big Ten title. There are plenty of similarities and differences between those teams over the last decade. But, one thing they absolutely have in common is that, unlike the 2024 Nittany Lions, none of them were available to be used in an EA Sports College Football video game since one hasn’t existed in over a decade.

Ahead of the release of EA Sports College Football 25, which will, of course, feature Franklin’s 11th team in blue and white, we’re taking a moment to rank the teams that would have been the best to play with if legal challenges and NIL constraints didn’t cause a pause for the beloved video game franchise.

1. The 2016 Penn State team

There should be no argument about where this list starts. You, the video game player, could have found a way to guide Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley, and co., by Pittsburgh in September to ensure that even a blowout loss to Michigan two weeks later would not totally derail the Nittany Lions’ chances of making the College Football Playoff. And, you may not have even of needed a blocked field goal to beat Ohio State. This team is a favorite of fans of all ages in real life. And, it would have been just as popular in video game land.

2. The 2023 Nittany Lion team

Admit it: Deep down, you might have this team above the 2016 team on your personal list if it didn’t have to be shared publicly. This team frustrated you to no end on the field. But, in video game land, you would have had five-star Drew Allar leading an offense that performed better than the one coordinator Mike Yurcich and his players were responsible for a year ago. Perhaps you would have featured the running backs or tight ends more. Or, you would have used the game’s portal tool to fix the receivers room. Little work would have been needed on defense. And, you may have found a way to guide a preseason top 10 team into the top four. In hindsight, maybe all the pieces weren’t there on paper. But, in a fictitious world, the rating of the offense, defense, and team overall means they probably would have been.

3. The 2017 Nittany Lions

Another preseason top 10 team loaded with talent, the video game version of this Penn State team would have featured the likes of McSorley, Barkley, Mike Gesicki, Miles Sanders, Amani Oruwariye, Jason Cabinda, and Marcus Allen, among others. Coming off the 2016 season, the Lions would have been rated highly, in all likelihood, in this year’s version of the game. And, you would have had the chance to spring an upset in Columbus while also avoiding the back-breaking loss at Michigan State that pushed the team toward the Fiesta Bowl.

4. The 2019 Penn State team

This group is probably a tad too low on our list. But, we’re splitting hairs when ranking real life teams in video game form, aren’t we? That said, this Penn State group was No. 15 in the preseason polls and featured Micah Parsons’ second season, Sean Clifford’s first as the starter under center, Journey Brown in the backfield, KJ Hamler at wide out, and Pat Freiermuth at tight end. Yetur Gross-Matos would have been available with Shaka Toney and Odafe Oweh as pass rushers, and Jaquan Brisker, Tariq Castro-Fields, and John Reid highlighted the secondary. Playing with Parsons in year two makes this team make the list alone, but Lions fans would have salivated at the chance to better navigate the November schedule on a TV screen than the real-life version did.

5. The 2022 Nittany Lions

This team makes the list for one reason and one reason only. It’s because you could have benched Sean Clifford in the game. Which, remember, you may have wanted the team to do. You would have started freshman Drew Allar, experience vs. inexperience be damned. That would be overcome by letting Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen run wild as freshmen. And, when you did have to throw, Parker Washington and Brenton Strange were available. Then, defensively, Ji’Ayir Brown would have patrolled things. And, you would have had Chop Robinson and Abdul Carter at your disposal, too. It would have been a fun group to play with.