It's finally here. Over a decade later, EA Sports revived its wildly popular college football video game, College Football 25.
Preordered "deluxe edition" copies of EA Sports College Football 25 were released Monday afternoon. The generic copies will be released to the public everywhere on Friday.
As a team, Arizona has an 87 overall rating with an 87 offensive rating and 82 defensive rating. EA Sports also added Arizona's pregame intro at Arizona Stadium, with the team running out of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility in the north end zone with UA cheerleaders hoisting flags leading the charge. A screaming Wildcat sound fires off at Arizona Stadium after every UA first down, akin to real-life games in Tucson.
"I think it's so cool," said first-year Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "I'm not a big gamer, but I love it because of the excitement it's generating for the college football season, and the excitement it's generating for Arizona football. People are excited to play with Noah Fifita and T-Mac and Jacob Manu and Gunner Maldonado, whoever. That part is going to be awesome, and for the players, it's so cool, because they grew up playing older versions of the game. But in their lives as high school and college football players, it hasn't been available. I think it's awesome."
The Star experimented the game on Monday and played a matchup between the 16th-ranked Arizona Wildcats and Washington Huskies, led by former head coach Jedd Fisch, in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, which had the title sponsor logos midfield and the 25-yard line.
Arizona lost to Washington 42-28, however McMillan, the highest-rated Wildcat in the game with a 94 overall rating, caught eight passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. McMillan is featured on the home screen for College Football 25 users who select Arizona as their favorite team.
We avenged Arizona's loss to Washington with a 55-14 win over in-state rival Arizona State in the Territorial Cup edition of the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. Fifita broke Arizona's single-game passing record, owned by him (527 yards), with 541 yards and five touchdowns and a 71% completion rate. A clip of one of Fifita's touchdowns to McMillan, a 62-yard over-the-shoulder fade route down the sideline, was shared on Snoop Dogg's social media accounts.ย
"I was a big NCAA (video game) guy growing up," Fifita said. "(NCAA Football 14) was the last game I played with my little brother. We're gamers, we love sports games the most. I'm definitely looking forward to it. We used to create teams โ 99 overall (rating) for everything. To not have to create a player anymore is pretty cool."ย
Not every current Wildcat is in College Football 25. Some players, like New Mexico transfer running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, are not on the roster in College Football 25, but are expected to be added during the next update. In the "Ultimate Team" mode, former Arizona left tackle and Green Bay Packers rookie Jordan Morgan is as an option in the "alumni pack."ย ย
Here's a look at the highest-rated players in the game:ย
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (94)
Cornerback Tacario Davis (92)
Right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea (90)
Quarterback Noah Fifita (89)
Linebacker Jacob Manu (87)
Safety Gunner Maldonado (85)
Running back Quali Conley (84)
Left guard Wendell Moe (83)
Safety Dalton Johnson (83)
Center Josh Baker (82)
Defensive end Tre Smith (81)
Defensive back Treydan Stukes (80)
Running back Rayshon Luke (80)
Wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig (79)
Defensive end Sterling Lane II (78)
Cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew (78)
Linebacker Justin Flowe (78)
Running back Kedrick Reescano (77)
Tight end Keyan Burnett (77)
Kicker Tyler Loop (77)
Tight end Roberto Miranda (77)
Defensive back Genesis Smith (76)
Left tackle Raymond Pulido (76)
Defensive end Chase Kennedy (75)
Defensive line Jarra Anderson (75)
Cornerbackย Jai-Ayviauynnย Celestine (75)
Quarterback Brayden Dorman (74)
Right guard Leif Magnuson (74)
Cornerback Demetrius Freeney (74)
Center Grayson Stovall (73)
Wide receiver Reymello Murphy (73)
Defensive line Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei (73)
Defensive tackle Keanu Mailoto (73)
Wide receiver Malachi Riley (73)
Offensive lineman JT Hand (73)
Running back Brandon Johnson (73)
Linebacker Taye Brown (72)
Tight end Dorian Thomas (72)
Defensive end Cyrus Durham (72)
Linebacker Kamuela Ka'aihue (72)
Quarterback Anthony Garcia (72)
Tight end Tyler Powell (71)
Safety Gavin Hunter (71)
Linebacker Leviticus Su'a (71)
Safety Jack Luttrell (71)
Wide receiver AJ Jones (70)
Defensive back Arian Parish (70)
Quarterback Cole Tannenbaum (70)
Tight end Dylan Tapley (69)
Wide receiver Jackson Holman (69)
Offensive lineman Alexander Doost (69)
Offensive tackle Tylen Gonzalez (69)
Left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai (69)
Wide receiver Jaden Clark (68)
Wide receiver Chris Hunter (67)
Linebacker Stacy Bey (67)
Defensive end Dominic Lolesio (67)
Cornerback Emmanuel Karnley (66)
Offensive tackle Matthew Lado (66)
Wide receiver Devin Hyatt (66)
Offensive lineman Jonah Rodriguez (65)
Wide receiver Rex Haynes (65)
Wide receiver Turran Williams (64)
Offensive lineman Ryan Stewart (64)
Wide receiver Brandon Phelps (63)
Linebacker Brandon Craddock (60)
Kicker Cash Peterman (59)
Cornerback Johno Price (59)
Linebacker Tyler Mustain (52)
Offensive lineman Zarius Wells (51)
Defensive end Ammon Kaufusi (51)
Long snapper Trey Naughton (50)
