Florida Football somehow has a top 25 defense in EA Sports CFB 25

If one were to look back on the 2023 season for Florida Football and ask what went right for the Gators, you would get a myriad of answers before anything on defense came up. Florida was the worst tackling team in the SEC, were in the bottom half of the country for points per game, and gave up a literal NCAA record to LSU QB Jayden Daniels.

So imagine the surprise Gator fans had when EA Sports dropped their list of the 25 best defenses in the country for their upcoming video game and Florida snuck into the list.

Florida Football: It's In The Game

Throughout the week EA Sports has been rolling out their ratings for the upcoming video game College Football 25. Earlier this week they released the toughest places to play, with The Swamp coming in at number ten. It was a bit low but not so out of place that many eyebrows were raised.

Today, they released their top offenses and defenses for the game. Florida didn't make it among the top 25 offenses in the game, which is fair. The Gators were 62nd in points per game and 51st in yards per play last season. While there is a narrative we could craft on how Florida could be a top-25 offense in 2024 if the offensive line takes a step forward, this seemed normal.

Then they released the rankings for defense and the Gators came in as the 25th best defense in the country for the upcoming game.

We'll take it, but this was far from a ranking Florida has earned based on merit. Florida was 85th in points per game defensively and 124th in yards per play. The Gators did add some potential key contributors for 2024, including Pup Howard and Asa Turner, along with some massive changes to the defensive coaching staff, including Will Harris and Ron Roberts.

But either EA Sports has massive faith in Florida and sees something the rest of us don't, or Billy Napier took a drive to Orlando and paid off someone within EA Sports.

There are plenty of other inconsistencies in the game, including Colorado having a top-20 defense after they were 105th in opponent yards per play in 2023.

EA Sports used to say if it's in the game, it's in the game.

We aren't quite sure that mantra still rings true today.