Img 8482 Scaled E1721080595519 — A look at the gameplay of pregame festivities at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (EA College Football 25)

It’s finally here.

The first college football video game in over a decade officially released Monday afternoon (for those that pre-ordered the deluxe edition). And it’s living up to the hype so far.

If you already have the game, you probably are too busy playing it to be reading this article anyway. But, if you’re on the fence about getting it or just waiting until the full release Friday, here’s a quick glance at what I discovered in my first couple of hours on the game.

A look at in-state talent

UAB players getting ready to head out of the tunnel at Protective Stadium. (EA College Football 25)

The first thing I wanted to do when opening the new game was checking out the rosters. This is the first time a college football game includes the real names of players (everybody remembers the QB #4) so I had to see the major change for myself.

I started with the six in-state teams that play at the FBS level and tracked down their top five players based on overall rating from EA Sports. Here’s how it looks:

No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide
Team ratings: 92 Overall, 91 Offense, 90 Defense
Parker Brailsford, 92 overall rating, C
Malachi Moore, 92, FS
Jaeden Roberts, 91, RG
Tyler Booker, 91, LG
Jalen Milroe, 90, QB

Auburn Tigers
Ratings: 85 OVR, 80 OFF, 86 DEF
Jarquez Hunter, 90, RB
Rivaldo Fairweather, 88, TE
Eugene Asante, 87, OLB
Jalen McLeod, 87, OLB
Keynote Scott, 85, CB

UAB Blazers
Ratings: 77 OVR, 75 OFF, 72 DEF
Brady Wilson, 86, C
Jacob Zeno, 83, QB
Amare Thomas, 81, WR
Lee Beebe Jr., 80, RB
Chris Brady, 79, FS

A shot of Snow-Burgess Field at JSU. (EA College Football 25)

Jacksonville State Gamecocks
Ratings: 77 OVR, 73 OFF, 70 DEF
Clay Webb, 92, LG
Sean Brown, 86, TE
J-Rock Swain, 81, DE
Laletia Hale, 81, MLB
Anwar Lewis, 78, RB

South Alabama Jaguars
Ratings: 76 OVR, 73 OFF, 70 DEF
Jaden Voisin, 86, FS
DJ Thomas Jones, 82, TE
Jamaal Pritchett, 81, WR
Braylon McReynolds, 81, RB
Maurice Strong Jr., 80, DT

Gameplay just before kickoff at South Alabama. (EA College Football 25)

Troy Trojans
Ratings: 74 OVR, 73 OFF, 68 DEF
Daniel King, 87, RG
Chris Lewis, 86, WR
Cecil Powell, 80, CB
Jah-Mal Williams, 79, DE
Eli Russ, 79, C

But it’s not just our college teams I had to check out. If you follow me, you know I’ve been covering high school football in this state for a while so I had to find some of the talent that was produced right here in Alabama.

Here’s the top 11 players who went to high school in Alabama but play college somewhere else, based on their ratings from EA:

Quinshon Judkins, 95, RB, Pike Road, Ohio State
Tez Johnson, 91, WR, Pinson Valley, Oregon
Peter Woods, 90, DE, Thompson, Clemson
Makhi Hughes, 90, RB, Huffman, Tulane
Cobee Bryant, 90, CB, Hillcrest-Evergreen, Kansas
Caullin Lacy, 88, WR, Faith Academy, Louisville
Riley Leonard, 88, QB, Fairhope, Notre Dame
Roc Taylor, 88, WR, Oxford, Memphis
Squirrel White, 87, WR, Clay-Chalkville, UT
T.J. Parker, 86, DE, Central-Phenix City, Clemson
Jalen White, 86, RB, Daleville, Georgia Southern

If you’re a fan of Ultimate Team, I would recommend chasing down some of the guys on that list.

Gameplay

Troy players at The Vet ahead of kickoff. (EA College Football 25)

There is a lot to look forward to about the changes made in the latest college football game but the biggest positive to me is how much they kept the nostalgia of the game. The marching band music in the main menu nearly made me cry.

But the coolest part was seeing the detail of each stadium. All six of our in-state FBS programs have their home stadium in the game.

Before kickoff at Troy, Chris Fowler mentioned “The Wiregrass.” Then at Protective Stadium, Rece Davis called Birmingham the “football capital of the South.”

I’m no expert on gameplay so I would say test it out for yourself but here is a video from a UAB game I played Monday afternoon.

A first look at the gameplay on EA College Football 25 featuring @UAB_FB and Protective Stadium. pic.twitter.com/J8r3VVEQOX
— TheBamaBuzz (@buzz_bama) July 15, 2024

Simulating the 2024 season

A look at Georgia and Alabama competing at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (EA College Football 25)

Before I got off, I took one run at simulating the 2024 season just to see what would happen.

I didn’t get into the recruiting or any other in-depth part of the dynasty mode. I wasn’t even controlling one of the in-state teams. But I did let the game simulate the entire season without interference.

Alabama finished the season with a 13-3 record, winning the national championship and the SEC championship. Jalen Milroe finished second in the Heisman voting.

However, the Crimson Tide did have to go through one surprising team in the playoff as Jacksonville State joined them.

The Gamecocks won the Sun Belt and ranked 18th in the final poll to earn the Power 5 spot in the College Football Playoff. They then defeated Texas in the Fiesta Bowl before losing 31-27 to Alabama in the national semifinal.

Here’s how the six teams fared:

#1 Alabama – 13-3, SEC and national champions
#15 Jax State – 12-3, Sun Belt Champions
UAB – 9-5, 6-2, AAC Champions
South Alabama – 6-7, 3-5 Sun Belt
Troy – 6-7, 4-4 Sun Belt
Auburn – 5-7, 1-7 SEC

South Alabama did win one of the best games of the year, downing Troy 45-43 in a quadruple overtime contest. UAB bounced back from losing its FCS opener, winning a game at Arkansas + claiming the conference title.