EA Sports released College Football 26 in early July, and since then we’ve been able to get a good look at each of the teams that are in the game. Some schools have been massively upgraded in terms of their ratings, while others have fallen. Through all of that, there are still schools that remain cemented inside the top five. Before that, though, if you are still playing CFB25 or want to get a head start on CFB26, head on over to LootBar! LootBar can hook you up with some much-needed coins to give you an advantage.
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The Top Five Rated Teams In College Football 26
Most of you already have a good idea of the teams that have been rated inside the top 10. The Alabama Crimson Tide boast the top-rated title in CFB 26 (89), with the Texas Longhorns trailing closely behind at 88. The Ohio State Buckeyes (88) round out the top three, with the Penn State Nittany Lions (88) at four and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (88) at five. These five ratings stood out to me, given the notable difference from CFB 25. Eight teams were rated over a 90 overall, and there isn’t one school with that in CFB 26.
Furthermore, Georgia fell to the sixth-best rated team, despite being number one a year ago with a 95 overall rating. Alabama, the number one-rated team this year, was previously number four. It wasn’t all different, though, with both Ohio State and Texas returning to the top-five rated teams, the only ones in that group last year to do so.
The Premier Offenses In CFB 26
Last year, if you wanted a potent offense, you would turn to a few of the big schools such as Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, and Texas. In CFB 26, you are going to have to look elsewhere. Texas remains strong offensively, but teams like Georgia, Alabama, and Oregon are all outside of the top five best offenses in the game. You might be pleasantly surprised to hear that, alongside Penn State taking a big leap in this category, we see the Arizona State Sun Devils rated with an overall offense of 91.
I was surprised to see Georgia drop outside the top five here, but not as surprised as the fall Oregon suffered offensively. They were the second-best offense in CFB 25 with a 94 overall rating, and now they find themselves rated as the 19th-best offense. This isn’t simply a minor drop; it is a significant decline here. If anything, this rating discrepancy highlights that CFB 26 sought to implement dramatic changes based on performance during the College Football season.
College Football 26 Favors Defense In Terms Of Ratings
In CFB 25, we got to see a plethora of high-ranking offense and defensive units. In CFB 26, it appears that there are more high-ranking defensive units than offensive ones. There are 12 schools with a defensive rating of over 90, compared to just four schools with an offensive rating of that same number. Now, admittedly, three teams in the top five ratings defensively stayed put, but a large number of teams saw considerable increases in this category. Only seven teams were above 90 overall in CFB 25.
Ohio State saw its defensive power rankings decline compared to a year ago, despite winning a National Championship this past season. They were the top-ranked defensive school in the country, with a rating of 96, but now find themselves at number five with a rating of 92.
Worst Rated Teams In College Football 26
I can’t talk about team ratings without mentioning the schools that got the short end of the stick. Schools that simply didn’t get any favors from the developers. Ball State was rated the worst team in the game, with a 68 overall rating, though Kent State is tied for that position on the leaderboard. Additionally, Akron, Missouri State, and UMass all have a rating under 70, each tied with a 69 rating.
In case you’re curious, CFB 25 did see some of those aforementioned schools towards the bottom of the list, but changes were made. Among the teams that remained far down the ratings were Kent State and UMass. This means that Akron, Missouri State, and Ball State experienced significant declines, falling into the lower end of the ratings.
Several teams saw improvements in their ratings in CFB 25. Kennesaw State rose one overall but also got out of the bottom 10 entirely. UTEP saw a similar result, Air Force went up multiple overall points to get out of the bottom-feeder category almost wholly, and Vanderbilt is now unrecognizable with an 82 overall team and an 85 overall offense. They ranked in the bottom eight overall for CFB 25, with a final ranking of 71. This is proof that, although some of these ratings feel accurate when they’re made, the upcoming College Football season can always make them look foolish.
College Football 26 Doesn’t Just Feel Like A Roster Update
Often, with sports games, it can feel like a new edition is simply a roster update. I don’t get that when playing CFB 26. You can tell from some of these ratings that the goal was to model the season after how the real College Football season played out. With that comes dramatic changes, both for the good and the bad. Teams like Vanderbilt saw themselves receive a massive boost for a strong season, while Oregon dropped off hard offensively. But luckily for us, team ratings aren’t the only thing that matters in CFB 26; you can also compete in Ultimate Team once again. For those still battling it out in CFB 25 or who are just more committed to Ultimate Team in CFB 26, you’ll love LootBar. You can purchase CFB 25 coins specifically if that’s what you’re into, or do the same for CFB 26 and get yourself a head start on the competition.
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Valid period: January 8, 2025, 12:55 PM – February 28, 2026, 12:00 AM
